


Dancing on the Blades, You set my Heart on Fire

by a1_kitkat



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Ice Skating, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Arguing, Athletes, Boys Kissing, Brother-Sister Relationships, Erik is Crushing Harder than a 12-year Old Girl, European Figure Skating Championships, First Kiss, First Meetings, Ice Skating, Inspired by Yuri!!! on Ice, Longing, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Misunderstandings, Not Beta Read, Public Humiliation, Rimming, Romantic Gestures, Secret Crush, Shaw Being a Manipulative Bastard, Viral Photo, Virgin Charles, but not a lot of ice skating, kiss and make up, naive charles, past accident, sleazy coach, viral video
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-10-25 20:08:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 29,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10771530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a1_kitkat/pseuds/a1_kitkat
Summary: Erik Lensherr was a World Champion Figure Skater until an accident kept him off the ice, leaving a path for Charles Xavier to take his crown. After a viral video gives Erik the kick he needs to start competing again, he finds himself in direct competition with Charles but the two have been following each other's careers for a long time and have been secretly crushing on the other.A chance meeting leads them down a path neither intended to travel. Will they come together or will the pressure of the competition drive them further apart?***a Yuri on Ice inspired fic***





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This came to me while binge-watching the entire first season of 'Yuri on Ice' 
> 
> Unfortunately I know very little about Competitive Ice Skating and google can only do so much. 
> 
> Not beta-read so all mistakes are mine and I apologize for them
> 
> Also, only my second attempt at writing AU X-Men so any feedback would be very much appreciated... Comments are love

The glass door leading out to the small balcony was wide open, allowing the chilly breeze to flow into the room. Down below the sounds of hundreds of competitors, spectators, reporters and tourists all merged together to a distracting noise. Yet Charles couldn't hear any of it as he sat completely still at the foot of the bed. His eyes closed in nervous concentration as he mentally talked himself through his routine for possibly the thousandth time that day.  
His thoughts were interrupted by a pillow hitting the back of his head. Charles turned in annoyance to glare at his sister, Raven, who was giggling to herself.

"Do you mind?" Charles snapped at her.  
"Charles!" She exclaimed. "You can do this routine in your sleep; can't you take five minutes off?"  
"I'll take time off once the Championships are over"  
"And you have your fourth consecutive, shiny medal"  
"Stop" he said as he threw the pillow back at her. "Please, just stop"

Raven moved towards her brother, sat down beside him and wrapped her arms around him.  
"Come on, Charles" she said. "Stop being such a downer"  
"You know I always stress right before a competition" he replied as he hugged her back.  
"It's all part of your process"  
"Raven, please"  
"You already won the Grand Prix" She shook her head as she slipped off the bed, moving around in front of her brother. "Come on, you can't stay cooped up in here" she reached out and took both his hands in hers. "Let's go for a walk"  
"I'm not in the mood" he tried to brush her off.  
"And I'm not taking no for an answer!"  
Charles looked up and into the hard gaze of her eyes and knew she meant business. No matter what he said it would fall on deaf ears so he heard himself reluctantly agreeing. Raven squealed with delight and hurried over to her suitcase to find something to wear.

Nearly twenty minutes passed before they were on their way. Each were rugged up in warm coats, scarves and gloves as they emerged from the hotel and stepped out onto the crowded street. Charles kept his head down as they passed several photographers but it was unnecessary for another competitor had just arrived and the press were too distracted to notice him.  
Raven linked arms with her brother while they walked and she excitedly pointed out things that caught her eye. Charles nodded at the appropriate intervals but mostly he slipped into his own little world. His phone began to buzz and he reached for it.  
His Coach was calling. With an apologetic smile at Raven, he answered the call and listened to his Coach yell down the phone to him.

"Moira wants me to stop by the arena" he said as he tucked his phone back in his pocket.  
"What?" She exclaimed. "But you promised no skating today"  
"I know" he reached up and kissed her forehead. "I'll meet you back at the hotel?"  
"Call me if you need rescuing"  
"You know I will"

They parted at the corner and Charles flagged down a taxi. He arrived in record time, paid the driver and went inside the venue. It was nowhere near as crowded as he'd anticipated it would be... in fact, it was practically deserted.  
Charles moved towards the ice, wishing he had his skates with him for he was anxious to be out there. The feeling of the ice beneath his feet, the breeze as he flowed so freely across the area, the excitement of a perfectly executed triple Lutz... He was itching to get out there himself; movement at the far end of the rink caught his eye and he found himself moving closer for a better look.

Even from this distance there was no mistaking the figure on the ice. It was none other than Erik Lensherr, three time winner of the World Championships and five European Championships until an injury had forced him off the ice.  
Charles had been transfixed from the first time he'd seen him skate live on television and he had become completely obsessed with the man ever since. Everything about Erik Lensherr was perfect. He moved with such grace and power yet he was so very masculine. The moment Charles became aware that a man such as Erik existed, was also the moment of Charles's sexual awakening. His passion had always been ice skating with little time for thoughts of anything or anyone else... Until Erik appeared on the television and for months he was all Charles could think about.  
It was his unrequited crush on Erik that had led to him coming out to Raven.

And now he was here, seeing Erik Lensherr in person, with his own two eyes. He moved closer again as he watched Erik's movements on the ice. It was every wet dream Charles had ever had come to life before his eyes. He was so thankful he was wearing jeans and a bulky coat to cover his prominent arousal.  
Erik moved like nothing he'd ever seen before. No other skater could ever compare to the skill, stamina and sexuality of Erik Lensherr. Not for the first time, Charles found himself dreaming of being intimate with the older man which only caused his arousal to harden further. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the beautiful, powerful movements of his competitor. For a skater who hadn't competed in four years he sure didn't look out of practice.

"Hey!" A voice yelled in his ear, snapping him from his daydream. "You can't be here, this is a closed practice!"  
Charles looked to his left and found himself face to face with Erik's stern Coach, Sebastian Shaw. He was tall and rather gruff looking yet something about him was almost familiar. Sure he'd seen photos and interviews with the man over the years but as far as he could recall he'd never seen him in person before.  
"I... I...." he stammered.

"Charles?"  
He turned and saw his own Coach standing behind Shaw and was immediately filled with relief.  
"Moira!" He cried as he ran to her side. She was at least a foot shorter than Shaw but looked equally as stern; Charles immediately fell in step beside her but kept his eyes on the ice.  
"Sorry" he apologised "but the ice was calling me"  
"Was it the ice or the person skating on it?" She asked. He felt himself blushing. "I'm teasing yow sweetie"  
"Why didn't you tell me he was going to be here?"  
"Who? Lensherr?"  
"Yes, him"

She shrugged her shoulders.  
"Honestly I wasn't sure if he'd make it" she admitted. "There was a rumour he was training again but he missed the grand prix so I just assumed..."  
"Did you call me here just to let him psych m out?"  
"Of course not! You're here for an interview"  
"An interview? But Moira, I haven't had time to-"  
"Exactly, you don't have time to second guess yourself"

Moira led him through the venue until they reached their destination. An older gentleman was waiting and Charles smiled nervously at him as he took a seat. He'd never been very good at talking to the press and Moira always did her best to keep his appearances to a minimum but this was the European final and he was representing the United Kingdom. Everybody would be vying for his time and his words but he couldn't avoid all of them.  
Charles greeted the interviewer and pulled up a chair. It was a relief not to have to be on camera but he was still very nervous; he would have felt much more relaxed had Raven been present, she had always excelled in press interviews and was his number one fan.  
They talked very candidly for quite some time; Charles almost forgot he was being interviewed until the conversation took a turn.

"You were a late comer to the sport and stated quite early in your career that you were a virgin, do you think not being distracted by relationships has made an impact on your training?"  
Charles blanched and cast his eye to Moira who immediately stepped in and voided the question. Charles had always regretted his naivety when he'd first started doing press interviews and accidentally let slip his lack of sexual experience for they had never let him forget it. It didn't help that ever since he hadn't been romantically involved with anyone so it was fairly obvious to anyone who followed his career that all these years later he was likely still a virgin.  
He'd also managed to keep the subject of his sexuality off limits too. If fans wanted to assume him gay or assume him straight he didn't care just so long as he didn't have to talk about it himself.

With that question shot down, the interviewer tried again to get some kind of reaction from Charles.

"You've won the Championships three years in a row"  
"That's correct"  
"But this year will be your first time competing against Germany Champion, Erik Lensherr"  
"I... Yes... I..."  
"You burst onto the scene around the time of his injury. Do you think his being unable to compete was what opened the field for you to sweep in?"  
"I... uh... No, I uh... His accident was very unfortunate and it's very... encouraging seeing him back on this ice after all this time"  
"And you're confident you can beat him?"  
"I... am confident that I'm going to give it my best"  
"You have an interesting history with Erik Lensherr"

Charles immediately felt panic washing over him. He should have known that Erik being here would dredge up the past. He took a deep breath as he tried to compose his thoughts.  
"There's no history-" Charles began to defend himself.  
"I am, of course, talking about the viral video from last year"

Moira quickly stepped in but Charles waved her away, saying it was alright.  
"As I've said in the past, that video was recorded and posted without my consent or knowledge" he explained. "It surfaced about a year after I did it and I tried as best I could to have it pulled"  
"Were you afraid Mr Lensherr would see it as a challenge?"  
"I did not wish for anyone to see it that way... I didn't actually want anyone to see it at all. In fact, I was so very concerned that it would be viewed out of context that I attempted to contact Mr Lensherr with a pre-emptive apology"  
"And did he accept your apology?"

"And we're out of time" Moira declared, effectively ending the interview. Charles was very relieved and thanked the interviewer for his time before hurrying from the room.

*

Erik Lensherr was close to breaking point. He'd spent the entire morning doing press interviews where he answered the same questions again and again. He'd been away from the spotlight for too long but his fans and the press hadn't forgotten him yet they all seemed to want his opinion on the new up and coming skaters.

It was a relief to finally get away from the spotlight and the constant stream of questions. He practically ran to the locker room and changed into his skates before hurrying down to the deserted rink. Once on the isolation of the ice, he was able to clear his mind and just focus on his skating. Yet as he glided across the rink, his mind filled with an image of one of his fellow competitors... the one every interviewer had enquired about, Charles Xavier.  
They all asked the obvious questions, had he heard of him? Had he seen the video of him skating? Had he spoken to him since?  
Erik gave the standard answers; he had heard of him and yes he had of course seen the video but he always dodged the final question for no, he had not spoken to the man. Not because he felt challenged or threatened but because he didn't know what to say. Just days after the video had been brought to his attention, he'd received a heartfelt hand written letter from Charles himself which had been the kick he'd needed to get back into the rink.

Being on the ice was like coming home after a long trip away. It felt so familiar and comfortable that he could lose himself for hours on end but his concentration kept wavering. Perhaps he should seek out Charles Xavier and clear the air before the competition started but he couldn't. He'd never admitted it aloud to anyone but he was simply too nervous to engage him. Erik had never managed to put into words what he'd wanted to say to the man so he knew that he looked to be the one with the wounded ego.  
Charles's letter had been so poetically beautiful, much as he'd imagined the man himself to be that it had actually caused his heart to skip a beat. It had been during a very low point of his life when the video had surfaced and he'd really taken note of the skater in the video. He'd taken Erik's breath away and Erik had become entranced. He'd skated that routine hundreds of times but seeing Charles Xavier skate it had thrown the entire routine into an entirely different light. It had only taken three viewings for him to realize it was love at first sight. He wanted Charles with all his heart and soul but they were in two different places. Erik knew he needed to get back on the ice and skate his way into Charles's heart. When the letter had arrived, it had taken all of his restraint not to jump on the first plane out and go to Charles in person but no... He hadn't been ready. Now he was and he was going to win the younger man over.

He jumped and twirled and pirouetted across the ice while images of Charles filled his mind but each image was a distraction which caused him to stumble and fall. Erik spent a great deal of time on his ass and growing more and more annoyed at himself. When he finally got tired of constantly falling over, he fled the ice and changed out of his skates. He was on his way out when he heard voices coming from one of the media rooms so he stopped and turned the TV on. A live feed from the smallest room came on the screen and he found himself staring at Charles.  
He watched as the interviewer pushed a very personal question upon Charles and he awaited his answer with baited breath but his coach, Moira, stepped in. Erik knew that if he ever got the chance, that would be one of the first things he'd ask Charles. He secretly hoped it was true, he wanted to be the one to take Charles's virginity.  
The interview then turned to him and he realized that, of course, Charles would be subjected to the same questions he'd been asked. When Charles mentioned sending Erik a letter, his heart raced, he wondered if he'd told anyone exactly what he'd written to Erik but the interview was cut short. 

He wondered if now would be a good time to engage with Charles, maybe invite him for a drink but before he could make a decision he heard someone call his name. Erik turned and saw his Coach moving towards him.  
"Your skating was sloppy" he snapped.  
"I know" Erik snipped back.  
"Were you distracted?"  
"My leg was cramping"  
"You better rest it tonight. Back to the hotel and do not leave under any circumstances. You need to be in perfect shape"  
"I know, I know"

He turned back to the TV in time to see Charles and Moira leaving the room. Erik didn't miss the unusual expression on the older man’s face as he watched Charles on the screen.  
'Verbotene Frucht' he heard Sebastian mutter under his breath with a sly smirk.  
"What was that, Coach?" Erik asked, thinking he'd misheard.  
"He will be your strongest competition" Sebastian said. "Make sure you crush him"  
"Yes Coach" Erik agreed as they both made their way to the exit.

*

By the time the interview ended, Charles immediately sneaked back around to the rink but Erik Lensherr was nowhere to be seen.

Charles was disappointed as he made his way back to the hotel and trudged up to his room. He vowed to go skating later that evening to cheer himself up. He unlocked the door and was relieved to find the room empty, Raven must still be out sightseeing. Charles removed his coat and threw it over the chair then he made himself a cup of tea. He picked up his laptop and his tea then set himself up on the balcony. It was chilly but comfortable with his computer in his lap and the tea in his hand. He logged onto the internet and brought up a video of Erik Lensherr's skating debut. Charles had memorised every single one of Erik's performances but this was still one of his all-time favourites. He watched it three times, feeling like he was seeing it in an entirely new light having seen him skating in person for the first time.  
Everything about Erik Lensherr was captivating to Charles. He wondered what he'd say to him should he ever get the chance to speak to him. He ran through a few possible scenarios in his mind but each of them ended with Charles embarrassing himself horribly or the two of them having hot, passionate sex. 

It was no surprise that Charles found himself becoming very aroused and he quickly put the computer aside. Cupping the tea in his hands he thought back over the interview and how he'd, once again, been told that the only reason he'd amounted so many wins in recent years was because he hadn't had to compete against Lensherr. It was something he'd internally been telling himself for years but it was nerve wracking hearing someone else say it.  
Why had be brought up the embarrassing letter he'd sent to Erik? His only saving grace was the possibility that Erik Lensherr hadn't received the letter and that was why he'd never replied. Charles had been very drunk when he'd written and posted the letter to his idol and deep down he was hopeful it had somehow gotten lost in transit.

He heard the door open and a moment later Raven flounced onto the balcony and sat down beside him. She plucked the cup from his hand and had a sip before handing it back.  
"What's with the computer?" She asked. "You googling yourself again?"  
"What?" He replied, indignantly. "No, I was on yout-" he stopped mid-word.  
"You were watching him again" it wasn't a question so he didn't give an answer.

"I saw him today" he tried to shift the conversation. "He was skating at the rink when I got there... His Coach caught me watching and yelled at me"  
"Oh Charles" she reached out and hugged him.  
"He's so.... so.... magnificent when he skates"  
"Well you're pretty breath taking yourself, Charles"  
"It's a might bit embarrassing actually"  
"What is?"  
"Watching him skate... it..." he felt himself blushing. "It was.... exciting"  
"Oh my God, Charles!" To her credit, she didn't laugh at her brother. "I thought you were long over that"  
"I thought I was too"  
"What are you going to do about it?"  
"Do?"  
"Charles, your performance attire doesn't exactly leave much to the imagination... something like that could throw off your balance completely"  
He buried his face in his hands. There really was only one option; he simply couldn't be anywhere near the ice while Erik skated. It was probably best if he just didn't have any contact with the man whatsoever. No matter how much it broke his heart.

*

Never one to keep his word, Erik refused to stay locked up in his hotel room. He knew Shaw would be out all evening, probably till dawn so his coach would never need to know that he'd gone out. He couldn't go to the rink though for it was too obvious not to mention too public so chances of him being seen by the press were high.  
No, he had another place in mind. A small deserted, obviously abandoned skate park that he'd accidentally stumbled upon years ago. He was secretly relieved the place hadn't been condemned or rezoned into an apartment building or anything.  
He threw his inline skates into a bag and casually slipped out of the hotel. There was a chill in the air so he pulled his gloves on and wrapped his scarf around his neck, half hiding his face while he walked. A taxi would have been much quicker but the walk was a nice distraction and gave him more time to think about his performance and Charles Xavier.

It took longer than he anticipated to find the park, having not been there for several years. It was still as run down but a small group of teens on skateboards were using the ramp. He moved past, ignoring them as he went and headed to the bottom of the park, to the long flat stretch of concrete. It was the perfect spot to practice. His inline skates were almost as good as his ice skates, allowing him to perform almost his entire routine off the ice.  
Coach Shaw always forbade him from skating on concrete, terrified that he'd injure himself again. He constantly argued with the man that the accident responsible for him not skating had had nothing to do with inline skating but Shaw always refused to listen.  
Erik kicked off his shoes and pulled his skates on, taking the time to lace them properly and securely. He pushed his bag and shoes aside then skated to the centre of the concrete. He looped the space several times, picking up speed as he went.

He had barely been skating for a few moments when he sensed someone watching him and assumed it to be one of the skateboarders. Feeling confident rather than self-conscious, he performed a series of jumps that were quite easy yet looked effective so whoever was watching would be impressed. Erik spun around and skated closer to the spectator but when he saw who it was, it stopped him in his tracks.  
Charles Xavier was mere feet away from him, looking as nervous as Erik suddenly felt. His eyes were wide and deep and beautiful, Erik knew he could lose himself for hours in them. The younger man was dressed as plainly casual as Erik was and he, too, was holding a pair of inline skates. How providential they had both happened upon the same idea and the same location at this very moment.

"I didn't expect anyone to be here" Charles admitted.  
"Neither did I" Erik agreed. "I stumbled upon this little place during my first grand prix"  
Charles nodded and Erik kicked himself, could his words be misinterpreted that he felt he was more entitled to be here because he'd found this place first?  
"Are you going to... uh... how long have..." Charles was stammering. It was as adorable as he was. "Should I come back later?"  
"No!" It came out harsher than he intended but he simply didn't want him to leave. "I... I... uh I just got here but it's a big enough area, you don't have to go"

Charles moved closer. He was much smaller than Erik had imagined, of course Erik was wearing skates and Charles wasn't but there was still a significant height difference even without the skates. He was already imagining what it would feel like to hold Charles Xavier in his arms.  
The younger man extended his hand in greeting.  
"Charles Xavier" he awkwardly introduced himself.  
"I know who you are" Erik replied before mentally kicking himself again. "I mean, of course... I... Uh" he was stammering, Erik never stammered! "Erik Lensherr"  
He reached out, grasped Charles's hand and politely shook it. His instant regret was that they were both wearing gloves; he wanted to feel skin on skin. He was a little surprised that Charles held onto his hand for as long as he did, neither one of them seemed to want to let go.  
"It’s an honour to finally meet you" Charles blurted and he quickly blushed. "I've been watching you skate on TV for years and I... I always hoped to meet you one day"  
"That is high praise indeed"

They finally released their hold of the others hand.  
"Can I ask you a personal question, Mr Lensherr?" Charles heard himself ask.  
"Erik, please" Erik assured him. "I may not answer or I might ask you one in return"  
Charles nodded in understanding.  
"You look flawless after your accident" he began.  
"Sizing up your competition, eh? Making sure I don't have any hidden ailment I'm keeping from the press"  
"What?"  
"Should I be on the lookout for a crowbar to my kneecap?"  
"What? No!"  
"Good because you don't strike me as the Tonya Harding type"

Charles looked absolutely horrified by Erik's words yet the older man began to chuckle and he was able to relax. Erik was playfully teasing him. He secretly liked it.  
"Was that your personal question?" Charles asked.  
"Depends... was that yours?"  
"I never actually asked one"  
"Touché"

"What made you decide to come back?" Charles cut straight to his burning question. "You were recuperating for a long time... a very long time. Everyone was afraid you'd given up and were never going to compete again"  
"Everyone was afraid?" Erik inquired.  
Charles looked up at him with his deep, mesmerizing blue eyes. "I was afraid" he confessed.  
"Worried you'd never get to compete against me?"  
"Scared I'd never get to see you skate in person with my own eyes"  
It wasn't the answer he'd expected so he wasn't sure what the appropriate response to give was.

"So you want to know why I started skating again?" Erik shifted the conversation. Charles nodded.  
"You don't have to tell me, not if you don't want to" he hastily added.  
"After the accident, I was told it was unlikely I'd be able to skate as well as I used to. I thought my career was over and I didn't take it well, fell off the wagon and let myself fall to some very low and dark places. Once I had healed and I'd lost so much time on the ice, I asked myself if it was really worth it and so I made a decision... called my coach, who surprisingly, still believed in me but I told him I was done and was ready to announce my retirement from skating"  
Charles actually gasped in surprise.  
"What happened to change your mind?" He couldn't help asking.  
"The night before the press conference" Erik stepped an inch closer to Charles. "I was sent a link to a video that had gone viral of another skater performing one of my most complex routines"  
Charles's eyes bulged as he stared at Erik in utter shock. Of course they were going to have to talk about the damn video eventually but he hadn't planned on it coming up like this.  
"I was angry at first" Erik continued "and was determined to hate the skater but first I had to watch it and what I saw..." he paused "I had skated that routine hundreds possibly thousands of times but seeing someone else perform it with such passion, dedication and beauty... it was like I was seeing it for the first time and I knew that I wasn't ready to give it up... but it inspired me... and it pushed me, drove me, for I knew I needed to be even better this time around"  
"I... I..." Charles stammered. God he'd been doing that a lot in Erik's presence.  
Erik reached out, knowing he was crossing a line, and placed his hand upon Charles's shoulder. He made a point of looking directly into the younger man's eyes.  
"I am so very sorry" he said as he held Charles's gaze.  
"You... sorry?" Charles's head was spinning; he couldn't believe Erik was touching him.  
"I'm sorry for never responding to your letter"

Charles felt his stomach drop at this surprise revelation. Erik had received his apology after all and had stayed silent all this time.  
"I've never been able to say anything as eloquently as you did. I tried many times to pen a reply but nothing seemed right. You deserved a response as equally poignant and passionate as your letter was and I... I couldn't do that and I'm sorry"

Charles stared into Erik's eyes, unsure what to say. Erik had known of his apology letter for more than a year but had chosen not to reply just because he wasn't good at writing his feelings down? It hurt but at the same time he almost found it a tiny bit sweet... that someone as worldly and attractive as Erik was concerned that his response wouldn't be good enough.  
He didn't take much time to think about it because Erik was still touching him, still staring into his eyes with his own soulful gaze. Charles stretched up onto his tip toes and kissed him.

But their lips had barely touched when Charles pulled away in shock. His eyes were, once again, so wide Erik feared they would bulge right out of their sockets and his cheeks had turned a deep, deep shade of red. Charles started to step back but Erik was still holding his shoulder and gripped his jacket to prevent him moving away.

"I.... I'm sorry" Charles stammered, again. "I...."  
"It's okay" Erik replied as he fingered the material of his jacket. "It's okay"  
"But I... I shouldn't... I can't believe I just...."  
"Charles, it's okay"  
"I should go... I have to go"  
But he reached up and removed Erik's hand then turned and started to hurry away. Erik didn't want him to leave but wasn't sure how to make him stay.

"Charles?" Erik called. "I answered your question; don't I still get to ask you one?"  
The younger man stopped. He was embarrassed but he also had manners; it was only fair since he had asked Erik a personal question, the older man should be allowed to ask one in return. Charles turned and looked in Erik's general direction, not quite able to meet his eyes.  
"Is it true what they say about you?" Erik asked.  
"What do they say about me?" Charles replied with a question. Erik skated closer and peered down at him.  
"That you're still the virgin prince?"  
"It's the Ice Prince, actually" Charles said a little standoffish.

Erik smirked.  
"That was your question?" Charles was confused. "If my nickname was correct?"  
"Fuck no" Erik leaned down so his lips were almost touching the younger man's ear. "I want to know if you really are still a virgin"  
"That kiss was so bad you assume I'm inexperienced?"

"Fine, you don't have to answer" Erik said, attempting to sound non-chalant. "I'll choose another question"  
"You don't get a do-over"  
"Will you skate with me?"  
"What?" He hadn't expected him to say that.  
"You have your skates; you came here to skate so... skate with me. Please?"

Charles was torn; he wanted to turn and leave but at the same time he wanted to stay. He knew he should go, resist the temptation to kiss Erik again but the older man hadn't pushed him away, hadn't told him he shouldn't have done it, he'd said it was okay... and now he wanted to skate with him.  
He moved a few steps away before stopping. The temptation to skate with Erik was too appealing to just walk away from so he immediately sat down and started to unlace his boots. Erik didn't want to push his luck or scare him off so he casually started to skate around the edge of the concrete area. He moved slowly, carefully watching Charles out the corner of his eye.

The younger man skated out to meet Erik but still kept his distance. They both started to skate around each other in wide circles. Erik performed a simple Lutz so Charles executed a series of cross rolls. Erik fell in step beside him, matching Charles's movements only backwards.  
He reached out for Charles's hand and they skated side by side in a wide circle around the park area. Erik pulled Charles closer and lifted him off the ground, spinning them both around.  
Neither of them had really skated with another before; Charles used to practice with Raven when they were kids while Erik had worked and practiced with Shaw for years but neither of them had felt a connection such as this before. They didn't use words to communicate yet each seemed to know what the other wanted and they managed to execute moves almost perfectly. Erik lifted Charles again before slowly lowering him back to the ground, their eyes were locked the entire time and both were aware of how fast their hearts were beating.

Erik's arms were around Charles's waist, Charles had his arms around Erik's neck and they simply gazed into each other's eyes. Being this close to the younger man was having a very physical effect on Erik's body but he was happy to see it having the same effect on Charles. He left one arm around his waist but brought the other up to touch his cheek.

"Charles" Erik whispered.  
"Erik" Charles's heart was in his throat. He'd dreamed of this for such a long time, surely this was a dream too?  
"Charles-"  
The younger man quickly pushed back, breaking contact with Erik and skating in a wide circle around him but he was distracted and he stumbled. Yet Erik was there to catch him and he found himself leaning back into his touch.  
Erik leaned closer, his lips close to Charles's ear.

"I really wanted it to be true" Erik whispered.  
"Wanted what to be true?" Charles asked.

He spun them both around so they were face to face.  
"After I saw you skate my routine, I watched every performance and interview and video of you I could find" Erik admitted. "Of course I kept it a secret from everyone I knew because I didn't want them to know the truth"  
"The truth?"  
"That I was utterly transfixed by you" Charles swallowed nervously. "From that first skate, I lusted after you... Right up until I received your heartfelt apology letter and then... then I was head over heels in love"

Charles gasped.  
"I'm sorry if this is too much for you" Erik continued. "But I wanted you to know that... that kiss wasn't a mistake"  
"Erik" Charles paused. "I spent years questioning my sexuality, terrified of being different especially since I was already teased mercilessly for my love of skating... but the first time I saw you skate... I was hard before you even landed the triple axel... I obsessed over your performance for weeks until I finally admitted it out loud to my sister that... that I was gay"  
"So you're saying I turned you?"  
"You helped me accept who I am and for that I am eternally grateful"

A phone began to ring and Charles was quick to break away.  
"I have to go" he said. "I'm sorry but I have to go"  
He skated away, leaned down and scooped up his bag then continued along the path out to the street. Erik watched him go, he wanted to stop him but feared he'd already overstepped. Fuck, he'd actually told Charles that he'd lusted after him!  
He physically slapped himself up the side of his head before turning on his heel and skating off.

*

Charles made it all the way out of the park before he stopped and pulled his phone out. He had one missed call from Raven. Fearing something bad had happened because he always leapt to the worst case scenario, he checked his voicemail but the message was very short and to the point. His sister was out with Moira and he didn't have to wait up for her.  
It had only been a few weeks since his sister had started seeing his coach and it still weirded him out just a little bit but they seemed very happy together so he was willing to give them a chance. Now that he realized he'd rushed off on Erik for no reason he wondered if he should go back. They had definitely been flirting with each other and sparks had been flying. Charles had been very tempted to suggest they trade in the inline skates for their ice skates and move their fun onto the ice. They had skated so in sync with each other on the concrete that he was curious what they could do when they were both truly in their element.

Charles walked a few blocks, replaying the entire exchange with Erik over and over again in his mind. He couldn't believe he'd kissed him! What had he been thinking? He was Erik Lensherr, the man Charles had jerked off to pictures and video of for years... and Erik had confessed to lusting after Charles? His head was spinning.  
He'd wanted Erik with every fibre of his being and now, having met the incredibly sexy and irresistible man, he just wanted him even more.... and he now knew that Erik wanted him too.  
But it had to be some kind of trick. Erik must have been using some kind of psychological means to attempt to throw Charles off his game. They were rivals after all. They each knew the other was their strongest competitor. If Erik wanted to play dirty then he wasn't the man Charles thought he was... not that he really knew him at all.

He wasn't paying any attention to where he was going and before he knew it, he was well and truly lost. He sat down and changed from his skates back to his shoes, to attract fewer stares from passer-by’s but after he turned a corner, he was able to flag down a taxi then he settled in the back seat and waited to be taken back to the hotel. Traffic was bad and it took much longer than he would have liked.  
He finally reached the hotel and trudged through the lobby. The elevator doors were closing and he called out. The Good Samaritan inside the elevator opened the door for him and Charles found himself, once again, face to face with Erik Lensherr.

"I got lost" Charles confessed. "Then traffic was bad"  
"I walked" Erik replied. "Needed to clear my head"

The doors slid closed and the lift began to ascend. Charles was very aware of how close Erik was standing to him. It was so distracting that he forgot to press the button for his floor. The doors opened and Erik looked at him.  
"Same floor, huh?" He asked as he stepped out.  
"What?" Charles was confused. "Oh... uh no... You’re on top of me... I mean I'm under you... my room is down"

The doors began to close but Erik reached out, took Charles's hand and pulled him out of the lift. They stared into each other's eyes as their hearts raced. Erik reached up, grabbed a fistful of Charles's jacket, yanked him close and kissed him. The world around them slipped away so they were the only two people in existence. Charles had never been kissed so deeply, so passionately, so hungrily. He wanted more; he needed more. By the time they parted, Charles was almost dizzy with desire.

"I want you, Charles" Erik cut straight to the point.  
"I want you too, Erik" Charles confessed before leaning in for another kiss.

Erik wrapped one arm around Charles while his other hand rummaged in his pocket for his room key. They continued kissing as they stumbled down the hall to Erik's room. It wasn't easy but he managed to unlock the door without breaking the kiss. He kicked the door open and pulled Charles into his room. They dropped their bags, threw their arms around each other and somehow ended up in a tangle of limbs on the bed.  
Charles's head was spinning. It was just too surreal; he'd fantasized about this moment ever since the first time he'd seen Erik skate and now he was here, in Erik's room, on Erik's bed with Erik's tongue in his mouth. His cock was already hard for the man and he was probably going to come embarrassingly soon.

"It's true" Charles breathed between kisses.  
"What is?" Erik asked; Charles's body was pinned beneath his. It was everything he'd dreamed it would be only better because it was real.  
"I'm still a virgin" he confessed.

Erik leapt off Charles as though he'd been slapped.  
"Erik?" He asked, very confused by the older man's unexpected reaction.  
"You are?" Erik sounded as confused as Charles felt. The younger man nodded his head and stared at him with terror filled eyes.  
"I am... is... is that... okay?"

Erik didn't know how to respond. He felt like his words would not be sufficient enough or perhaps they'd be too much and scare Charles away. He did the first thing that came to mind and simply kissed him but Charles was a little hesitant to return the embrace. He feared he'd said something wrong.

"Charles" he whispered. "The moment I saw the interview when you admitted to being a virgin... I knew I wanted to be the one you gave it to"  
"Really?"  
"I hope you don't think it forward or creepy of me-"  
"I was saving myself for you"  
"What?"

They both sat up and simply stared at each other.  
"I know" Charles confessed. "I know, it sounds absolutely ridiculous but... that first time I saw you skate, I was hard for you and I've been hard ever since. Every time I watched you, all I could think about was what it would be like to be yours... to have your body so close to mine"  
"This sounds like some awful teen romance novel or something but I felt the same way... from the first time I saw you, all I could think about was being with you, kissing you, touching you" he stole a gentle kiss "coming inside you"

Tears began to form in Charles's eyes as he reached for Erik's hand then guided it between his legs to cup his growing hardness.  
"I want you to be my first" Charles said very nervously. Erik didn't know what to say but he jerked his wrist, rubbing the younger man's hardness in what he hoped was an affectionate gesture not a sleazy one.  
"I want that too" he agreed before kissing Charles again. "But-"  
"But?" He cut him off, looking utterly dejected.

Erik reached up with his other hand and placed it upon Charles's cheek. He stared into those deep, blue eyes and hated himself for what he was about to say.  
"We can't do this right now" he stated.  
"What do you mean? Is it because I'm...?"  
"Yes, of course it is"  
"But I thought that-"  
Erik kissed him again, attempting to reassure him.  
"I want your first time to be special, Charles"  
"With you it will be"  
"It can be... Please, allow me to make it so"  
"But Erik-"  
"Shaw could be back any minute; I want us to take our time and really make the most of it... are you really prepared to drop your pants and have me fuck you right now?"  
"You didn't have to put it so crudely" Charles said but in the back of his mind, he knew Erik was right. He'd been propositioned in the past and had politely declined for two main reasons, one being the suitor wasn't Erik and the other being that he wasn't really ready yet... but he was twenty one years old and no longer a nervous teenager. By all accounts he should be able to rip his clothes off and just go for it.

"Tomorrow night" Erik began, a plan already forming in his mind. "I'll arrange a room in another hotel, away from Shaw, Moira, and your sister... no distractions to get in the way. That way we'll know if this is real, that it's not something we're rushing into based purely on lust. I want you so much, Charles, but I want you to be ready. I know twenty four hours isn't exactly a lot of time but it should be enough"  
"You know, you're not at all like I expected"  
"How's that?"  
"With looks and talent like yours, I always assumed you were a playboy who just liked to play the field... only take what you want, never give anything back... but I still wanted you"  
"And I always pegged you as the serial flirt... the one that everyone wants but no one can ever have. Is that why you downplay the virgin angle? You don't want people to know they can only look and not touch?"  
"You're touching me right now"  
"I am... Do you want me to stop?"  
"No"

Erik continued rubbing his hand against Charles's groin for some time, just listening to the beautiful sighs and gasps of encouragement. He reached up and loosened the knot on his scarf, pulling it free from his neck then he carefully grasped both his pants and underwear in his fist and lowered them, freeing the very erect cock from its confinement.  
Charles gasped again in surprise. He'd never allowed another man to see him naked before. His cheeks flushed in embarrassment but Erik simply kissed him.

"You trust me, don't you?" Erik asked him. Charles looked terrified but he nodded his head yes. "Good... Now just relax and continue to trust me"  
Erik took the scarf and wrapped it around Charles's eyes, obscuring his vision. He watched as the younger man nervously chewed his bottom lip, obviously wanting to protest but trying to stop himself. With his eyes covered and his cock out, it was truly the most stunning sight Erik had ever seen. He knew it was wrong but he reached into his pocket, retrieved his phone and snapped a picture.  
"Erik?" Charles sounded so adorably terrified that Erik leaned down and kissed him reassuringly. They kissed for a long time, until he felt Charles finally begin to relax, then he pulled away, moved down the younger man's body and sloppily ran his tongue down the entire length of his cock.  
Charles cried out in shock but Erik simply continued in his task. He took his time to kiss and lick and tease every inch of the hard, weeping cock before him. Erik even made sure to fondle and suckle upon his balls. Each of his actions was met with cries of delight from the younger man. This was Charles's first blowjob; Erik wanted him to never forget it. It was blissful torture for Charles who wanted so desperately to come but he also never wanted it to end. He wanted his cock to stay in Erik's mouth forever. Erik did everything he could think of to make it as memorable and pleasurable for Charles, using every trick he'd ever enjoyed himself until the younger man was practically begging for him.  
A few simple tugs of his balls and another suck or two then Charles came, crying out Erik's name as tears spilled down his cheeks. It was the most intense orgasm he'd ever had and he was grateful for the scarf covering his eyes, he didn't want Erik to see him crying. But the scarf was torn away and he stared up at him through his tear filled eyes. Erik was going to think him so pathetic! But no, Erik just reached up, wiped the tears away and kissed him deeply.

"Thank you, Charles" Erik whispered.  
His heard was swimming. Erik was thanking him? What on earth for?  
"Thank you for trusting me" he added.  
"Thank you, Erik, for... wanting me" it sounded feeble but Erik didn't take it that way.  
"I will always want you, Charles"

His phone began to buzz and he snatched it up. Shaw was calling him. He cursed and answered it. The man was obviously drunk off his face and, from the sounds of it, struggling to make the elevator work. Panic filled Erik as he ended the call.

"Shaw's here" Erik stated.  
"What?" Charles exclaimed.  
"Downstairs... he's drunk but I have to go get him... I'm sorry, Charles"  
"I... I understand"

Erik helped him to his feet and searched for his discarded bag while Charles straightened his clothes. They hurried to the door but Erik couldn't resist one last kiss. They separated and stepped into the hall.

"Tomorrow night, yes?" Erik asked him while they waited for the lift.  
"Yes, definitely" Charles replied.  
The doors opened and they stepped inside. Charles pressed his floor while Erik pressed the ground button. The doors closed, the lift descended and came to a stop at Charles's floor. He stepped forward then leaned up, kissed Erik and left. Before the doors closed, Erik smiled and quietly told him goodnight.

Charles headed down the hall to his room, his heart swelling and his head spinning. He couldn't believe what had happened to him in such a short amount of time. He was practically giddy and couldn't wait for Raven to get back so he could tell her the good news!


	2. Chapter 2

When Charles awoke the following morning, he immediately feared the previous evening had all been some incredibly lucid dream. There was simply no way it could possibly have happened, that he had ended up in Erik Lensherr's room. He sat up and saw his bag on the floor where he'd dropped it; his scarf was nowhere in sight and he realized he must have left it in Erik's room... So it must have been real.  
He closed his eyes and slowly replayed his entire encounter with Erik, pausing to become slightly giddy at the promise of seeing him again tonight and the memory of Erik touching him. He couldn't believe he'd successfully survived his first blowjob and hadn't embarrassed himself horribly. Now if he could just maintain his dignity while giving up his virginity.

Charles reached for his phone and looked over at the other bed in the room, Raven was still sound asleep. He wanted to wake her up and tell her everything but he stopped himself. They didn't have any secrets from each other so by all reasoning he should tell her about his hook up with Erik but he wanted to be selfish and keep it sacred.  
He checked his texts before turning his attention to google. Uncertain of what he was likely to find, he opened a search engine and typed in 'tips for having gay sex'. He felt weird as the page loaded yet devoured every single thing that came up. By the time he'd read through about six different sites, he was an equal mix of excited and terrified. Charles climbed out of bed and hurried into the bathroom where he jumped into the shower. He washed himself very, very thoroughly and touched himself a few times. Jerking off to the memory of being with Erik also made him felt strange; why was he touching himself when Erik could be the one touching him?  
But he decided to try something he hadn't done before. He took his index finger and inserted it into his ass. It felt weird but in a few hours, Erik would be putting his cock in there and the very thought made him shiver with excitement.

A loud knocking at the bathroom door made him stop what he was doing. He shouted back to Raven and they spent a few minutes yelling at each other through the closed door. He eventually got out of the shower, dried off and dressed quickly. When he emerged, Raven was sitting on the edge of the bed with her arms crossed.

"What Raven?" He asked her.  
"Moira and I were out last night"  
"I know"  
"Erik's coach, Shaw, was at the bar"  
"So?"  
"He was trashed and just kept telling everyone over and over again that his precious Erik is going to win"  
"He believes in his skater, Moira sings my praises when she gets drunk"  
"He was really adamant, Charles"  
"What's your point, Raven?"  
"I'm sorry but I just don't trust him. I know you're still crushing on Erik but you need to bring your A game and beat him"

Charles was close to defending Erik but he could tell that she'd already made up her mind and nothing he said would make any difference. He leaned down and kissed her forehead.  
"Raven, I love that you believe in me" he said to her. "And I intend to win this weekend but I can't control what the other competitors coaches shoot their mouths off about"  
"I'll always believe in you, Charles, I just don't want to see you get all psyched out"  
"So maybe you shouldn't tell me when someone is trying to psych me out"  
Raven pouted as Charles walked across the room. He pulled on his jacket then told her he was going downstairs for breakfast. He hurried down to the restaurant but was disappointed to find no sign of Erik or even Shaw. He lingered for much longer than necessary in the hope that Erik would make an appearance but he ended up being cornered by Moira before being bustled out of the restaurant, into a taxi and off to the rink.

*

Erik had always excelled at press conferences but since his comeback, all questions were either related to his accident or his competitors, in particular Charles Xavier. He tried to be as truthful as possible which was a little easier now that he'd cleared the air with Charles himself. It took a lot of his resolve not to brag about his activities with the younger man the previous night. He really wanted to go on the record and tell anyone who would listen that he was going to take Charles's v-card.

Most of his morning was taken up with press interviews and even a photo shoot on the ice. He had to skate around in circles and perform a few basic jumps for some candid shots. It was boring but he passed the time by imagining that Charles was skating by his side. He'd enjoyed their skate from the previous night and was itching to get out onto the ice with him. He was sure they'd be brilliant together.  
He was finally released from his obligations and left the ice to change out of his skates. When he looked up, he saw the photographer still on the ice had been joined by the next skater, Charles. Erik shimmied down in his seat so Charles wouldn't notice him. He wanted to stay and watch the younger man skate. 

Charles moved with grace and agility, the movement of his body was stunning and Erik couldn't look away. Charles leapt into the air, executing a lux but he stumbled and ended up on the ice. Erik sat up but Charles was already on his feet, brushing himself off. He skated off, moving in wide circles around the ice, into a series of cross rolls. The photographer snapped away as Charles skated backwards with a wide smile upon his face. He turned and tried another jump; he staggered but managed to stay on his feet. Erik frowned; he'd never known Charles to skate so sloppily. A third jump saw him, once again, on his ass on the ice and Erik actually stood up. He was tempted to go down there and ask Charles what was wrong but he knew he couldn't.  
Something had to be distracting him but what?  
When Charles fumbled again, Erik happened upon a realization. He was the distraction! Charles had been in fine form until he'd hooked up with Erik. The younger man was either regretting what they had done last night or dreading the coming evening. Perhaps he should tell him it was okay to not want to go through with it? It was a part of the reason he'd suggested they wait, to allow Charles the chance to change his mind.

Erik got up and walked away. Once in the change room, he looked around and tried to determine which locker belonged to Charles. He rummaged in his bag for pen and paper and wrote a quick note to the younger man. Erik stood up to leave when he heard someone approaching. The door opened and Charles stepped into the room, immediately followed by his sister and his coach. Erik paused as Charles saw him and stopped. Their eyes locked.  
Erik was the first to recover and he immediately walked towards them. He held out his hand in greeting.  
"You must be Charles Xavier" he began, "I'm Erik Lensherr"  
"Mr Lensherr, it's an honour to meet you" Charles replied as he shook his hand.  
Erik smiled his trademark dashing grin before turning and introducing himself to Raven and Moira. They made small talk for several moments before Erik bid them goodbye, he stepped around them but brushed against Charles, slipping the note into his pocket as he went.

Once out of sight, he stopped and eavesdropped on the conversation where Raven stated she was very impressed with how together Charles had been at meeting his skating idol. He heard the younger man stammer a response and knew he'd guessed correctly, that Charles hadn't told her what they'd done last night. He checked the time and hurried away, not wanting to hear anymore. Erik had the afternoon free to himself and he had much to do to be ready for the evening. If Charles decided to show up, he was going to give him a night he'd never forget.  
He hadn't gone far when he heard someone call his name. Erik turned and saw his Coach approaching him.

"Coach?" Erik greeted him.  
He hadn't entirely forgiven the man for interrupting his time with Charles; he was thankful they hadn't been caught but he would have liked longer to fully explore the beautiful body that had so freely been presented to him.  
"Where did you disappear to this morning?"  
"I went for a walk"  
It wasn't a total lie. He'd walked to a nearby hotel and booked the honeymoon suite for that night. He'd meant what he'd said to Charles, he wanted his first time to be special.  
"Were you sizing up the competition today?" Shaw barked. "That Xavier kid sure was terrible... you'll skate circles around him tomorrow if he keeps it up like that"  
"Maybe he was having an off day?"  
"Then hope he keeps it up... we both know he's your biggest threat, he will be the difference between you winning Gold or Silver"  
"I know, I know"

They left the venue and piled into a taxi. Erik's phone slipped out of his pocket and onto the middle seat. Shaw picked it up, unlocked it and started scrolling through it in search of his performance statistics. He accidentally opened the camera and discovered the last photo taken. It took a few seconds for him to recognize the subject, given his eyes were covered by a scarf but the emblem on his shirt and the pouty lips were clearly those belonging to Charles Xavier. Shaw quickly forwarded the image to his own phone before switching back to the browser.  
He made a throwaway comment and Erik turned to glare at him.

"Is that my phone?" He snapped.  
"Yes" Shaw replied. "Mine died"  
Erik snatched it from his hand.  
"What's the problem? It’s not like there's anything on it that you wouldn't want me to see"  
"There isn't" Erik insisted. "It’s just polite to have some privacy"  
"Fine, next time I'll ask first"  
But Erik was already changing the passcode to prevent him accessing his phone in future.

*

Moira insisted on waiting until all the skaters had been candidly photographed on the ice so Charles could go back out and practice again. The reporter and photographer hadn't been concerned by his skating for they'd managed to get the shots they needed but Moira was beside herself. If Charles skated like that tomorrow, he definitely wouldn't place and it was her job to ensure he came away from this a winner.  
She kept him on the ice for a long time, practicing his components over and over again yet he continued to stumble each and every one of them. Moira tried to keep her composure but she yelled until she was hoarse and Raven eventually stepped in. By the time Charles left the ice, he was bruised and damp from spending so much time on his ass. He staggered into the change room and collapsed in an exhausted heap.

Moira seemed to have run out of negative things to say to him but that didn't stop Charles from apologising repeatedly. He felt that he'd disappointed her and Raven and himself but he just didn't know how to get back on track... aside from the obvious. The one thing on his mind, distracting him, was the promise Erik had made him the previous night. He still couldn't believe that in a few hours, he'd be in the older man's arms, kissing him, giving himself completely to Erik. It was exciting and terrifying.

Raven sat down beside her brother and asked what was bothering him. She asked if he was nervous about skating in front of Erik which he denied. Charles started to unlace his skates while Raven went to his locker and retrieved his bag and jacket. As she made to help him into the jacket, a piece of paper fell from the pocket. She scooped it up and unfolded it. Her eyes immediately darted from the note to Charles and back again.

"What's this?" She asked as she held it up. Charles looked up in confusion.  
"What is what?" He asked.  
"Who's El and why do they want to meet you at eight o'clock tonight?"  
He snatched the note from her hand, his heart beating rapidly as he read it for himself.  
"It's nothing" he tried to brush her off.  
"Don't lie to me, Charles!"

He removed his skates and switched into sneakers then he packed away his skates and got to his feet, preparing to leave. Moira was long gone, probably off somewhere to drink her nerves and anger away.

"Charles!" Raven shouted as she grabbed his arm, stopping him from walking away. "Do we need to call security?"  
"Security?"  
"Someone you don't know managed to slip a note into your pocket! There could be a security threat"  
"It's not someone I don't know"  
She punched him, hard.  
"Charles! Why didn't you tell me you'd met someone? Who's El?"  
"It's not El.... its initials... E.L... Erik Lensherr"  
"WHAT?" Raven screamed so loud that Charles actually flinched. "How? What? When? Charles, what is going on?"

He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the far corner of the empty room, he didn't want anyone to overhear.  
"While you were busy last night, I went to the skate park that we found last time we were here and... He was there" Charles explained.  
"What was he doing there?"  
"Skating... I watched him for a while and we talked"  
"Charles!" She playfully hit him again. "Why didn't you tell me you met him yesterday? I should have known... you were way too calm and composed when he introduced himself earlier... wait, why did he pretend you hadn't met?"  
He knew why he'd kept it from her but he wasn't sure what Erik's reason had been for acting like yesterday hadn't happened... even if he had taken that moment to slip a note to Charles.  
"We talked a bit" Charles continued. "And I kissed him"  
"What?" Raven shrieked.  
"I was just so in awe and he was so... so... Erik! I just didn't think and I kissed him then I panicked and tried to run away but he stopped me and said it was okay and then he asked me to skate with him"  
"You skated with him?"  
"For a bit... Until I came to my senses and ran away"  
"Smart move"  
"What?"

"Charles, I know you've been smitten with him for a long time" she said. "But that's all it is, right?"  
It was Charles's turn to say 'what?'  
"He's a playboy, Charles. Always has been and always will be. You were smart to run but why is he slipping notes to you about meeting in the honeymoon suite?"  
"We talked and it was... nice"  
"Nice?"  
"We cleared the air about the whole skating video and... Last night, after I ran off... Somehow, fate intervened and we ended up in the lift together"  
"Oh no, Charles, tell me you didn't"  
"Didn't what?"  
She grabbed his arm and hissed in his ear.  
"Tell me you didn't sleep with him!" 

Charles yanked his arm away and glared at his sister.  
"I don't see how it's any of your business if I did" he snapped.  
"You can't sleep with your biggest competitor!"  
"Why not? I've been in love with him for years"  
"No, you've had a crush on him for years... a crush isn't love!"  
"I don't have to listen to this!"  
He shouldered his bag and ran from the room as quickly as possible.

*

Erik stood in the middle of the room, examining his surroundings and making sure everything was in its place. He wanted everything to be absolutely perfect but now he was wondering if he'd gone a little overboard. The candles were probably too much he realised and hastily started blowing the candles out.  
He stopped and examined the scented candles. Maybe he could just move them? Erik started carrying them into the bathroom, shoving them into the cupboard under the sink but leaving a few lit ones on display to set the mood. He returned to the main room and checked himself out in the mirror. Charles wasn't due for at least another twenty minutes so he could relax for a moment.

Knock! Knock!  
Thinking it was room service he got up and opened the door.

"Charles?"  
The younger man was not only early but he was clearly upset. Unsure what to do under the circumstances, he reached out and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him close and holding him tight. Charles leaned into his touch and buried his face in the older man's chest. Erik stepped back and pulled Charles into the room, letting the door click closed behind them.  
He held Charles for a long time, too confused to say anything but enjoying the feeling of having the younger man in his arms. After several long minutes, Charles calmed down and extracted himself from Erik's arms.

"You're early" Erik said to break the ice. Charles laughed.  
"I am so sorry" Charles replied. "I did not intend to show up like this"  
"It's okay, Charles, it's alright"  
"No, it’s not"  
Erik reached up and gently brushed the tears from the younger man's cheeks. Charles smiled up at him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Erik asked.  
"I got into an argument with my sister about you"  
"You told her about last night?"  
"No, she found the note you left in my pocket"  
"Oh, sorry"  
"I told her that we kissed and that I panicked and ran away and she told me that was a good thing because I should stay away from you"  
"She doesn't like me?"

"Raven worries about me" Charles admitted. "Especially after I skated so terribly today"  
"I thought you seemed a little distracted on the ice" Erik confessed.  
"She put two and two together and realized you were what was distracting me and we argued... a lot"  
"I'm so sorry, Charles"  
"We argued at the rink and then we made it all the way back to the hotel, where we argued some more"  
"And that's why you're so upset? Because you don't normally fight with your sister?"  
"She said things about you, things I didn't want to believe but she's my sister and I know her a lot better than I know you"

Erik reached out and took both of Charles's hands in his.  
"What did she say exactly?" He asked.  
"That you were a playboy who only cared about himself and... I told her she was wrong, that there was a connection between us but she... she said it was just my imagination and that you just wanted to psych me out so you could beat me especially given how bad I skated today"

Erik leaned forward and kissed him very gently upon the lips.  
"I promise you, I would never do anything to hurt you, Charles. You say there was a connection between us? I felt it too. It's why we're both here right now because I want to be with you. I want to make love to you and I want you to want me too. You are in complete control here, Charles. It means a lot that you came here, to me, even though you were upset, that you allowed me to comfort you but what happens now is up to you. If you wish to leave, to go back to your sister and clear the air, then you can... but if you want to be with me, then stay... the ball is in your court, are you ready to make the shot?"

Charles stared into Erik's eyes for a very long time as though attempting to gauge if the older man was lying in an attempt to manipulate him but all he could see was genuine feelings. Erik wanted him and he wanted Erik.  
Raven had told him not to come, had practically begged him to promise he wouldn't sleep with Erik but she didn't understand how Charles felt, the embarrassment at being a twenty year old virgin. He knew he could find any nice attractive lad to give it up to but he didn't want to do that. He wanted it to be special and with someone he had a connection with, someone he was attracted to. He wanted it to be Erik.

Erik stood in nervous silence for a long time, attempting to read the emotions on Charles's face. He honestly had no idea what the younger lad would decide. He knew which he was hoping for but he waited with baited breath for him to make a decision.

"I want my first time to be with you" Charles admitted.  
"Tonight?" Erik asked.  
Charles nodded his head. "Tonight"

Erik couldn't hide his delight as he swept Charles off his feet and kissed him. He spun them both around in circles while they kissed before coming to a stop at the foot of the bed. Another knock at the door caused them to separate and Erik hurried off, leaving Charles to really take in his surroundings.  
Erik really had gone to a lot of effort. Several candles were placed around the room and there was a trail of rose petals leading not just to the bed but to the bathroom as well. He headed towards the closed door and was just about to open it when Erik reappeared.

"No!" He called out and Charles took a step back.  
"Sorry" he sheepishly apologized.  
"It's supposed to be a surprise but you were early so it's not quite ready... close your eyes, please?"

Charles didn't even hesitate to do as asked. He heard Erik's footsteps pass by him then the sound of the bathroom door open and close. He sat for several minutes with his eyes closed before Erik returned, announcing his presence with a kiss. He wrapped his arms around him and they lay down on the bed, kissing and touching each other.  
Erik was quick to help Charles out of his jacket, beanie and scarf before reaching for his shirt. Charles was nervous but he put his trust in Erik and was thankful that the older man didn't laugh at his pale chest. Erik put his mind at ease by kissing both of his nipples. Charles moaned appreciatively, having never been teased like that before.

"Charles, I want you to relax and feel comfortable around me, okay?" Erik asked.  
"Uh, okay?"  
"Good because we're both going to get naked now"  
"Now?"  
Charles sat up in surprise; he'd been expecting a bit more foreplay first. Erik laughed as he broke away and picked up a robe.  
"Put this on, please?"

Erik turned his back as he stripped off his own clothes and kicked them aside. He knew Charles hadn't moved yet for he could feel the other man's eyes watching his every movement. Once he was naked, he pulled the robe on and tied it at the waist then he turned to Charles.  
"Change into the robe and join me in there, please" Erik said as he nodded towards the bathroom door.

Charles watched him disappear behind the door then he slowly undressed himself, pushing his clothes into the corner with Erik's then he eased the robe on and tied it, trying to keep himself covered up. He moved towards the door then opened it.  
Erik was standing in front of the largest spa Charles had ever seen; in his hands were two glasses of champagne and beside the spa was a chocolate fondue fountain with strawberries and marshmallows.  
Charles didn't know what to say. Maybe Erik misread his silence as disgust for he asked if it was too much but Charles just shook his head.

"It's perfect" he admitted. "Even the candles make it so... romantic"  
Erik sighed with relief. "I was worried you'd find it cheesy"  
He handed one of the glasses to Charles and made a very brief toast before clink their glasses and sipped their drinks. Charles wasn't a big drinker but he knew expensive champagne when he tasted it. Erik really had spared no expense on this evening.  
He watched as Erik untied his robe, turned around and let it drop to the floor then he stepped into the spa and sat down, his body disappeared into the bubbles that covered the surface of the water.

"Please, join me Charles" Erik invited him in before taking another sip from his glass.  
Charles swallowed his nerves as he moved towards the spa. He watched Erik watch him and knew the older man was just waiting for him to remove his robe. It was silly to feel so nervous; Erik had already sucked him off so it wasn't as though he hadn't seen Charles's dick before. He took a deep breath and dropped the robe so he was standing completely naked before Erik.  
"Perfection" he whispered. Charles felt himself blush.

He quickly climbed into the spa and immediately sought Erik's embrace. Charles settled between his open legs, his back resting upon Erik's chest. He watched as Erik dipped a strawberry into the melted chocolate then brought it to Charles's lips, he took a bite then Erik leaned close and licked the traces of chocolate from his lips.  
It was so very relaxing as they held each other and took turns feeding the other strawberries and marshmallows covered in melted chocolate. On the odd occasion, Erik's other hand would disappear under the water and playfully tease Charles's cock or nipple.  
It was the perfect ice breaker and Charles found himself becoming less nervous by the minute. By the time the bubbles had disappeared, the water had cooled and all the marshmallows had been eaten, Charles was already in the throes of being completely seduced.

They climbed out of the now tepid water and spent the next few moments towelling themselves dry, Erik was more than happy to assist Charles in this task which mostly consisted of Erik wrapping the towel around his waist then pulling him close for a kiss.  
The champagne had gone straight to Charles's head but he wasn't drunk, he was barely tipsy but he was relaxed. They returned to the main room and the king sized bed waiting for them. Charles crawled onto the bed and lie down on his stomach in the middle of it. Erik was quick to join him and gently ran his hands up and down the younger man's back then up to his shoulders; he spent a long time massaging his neck and shoulders, he could almost feel the last hints of nerves leaving Charles's body.

"Charles?" He whispered.  
"Mmmm?"  
"May I... prepare you?"  
"Mmmm hmmm"

Charles honestly had no idea what he'd just agreed to; he was already too happy and relaxed to care. Erik seemed to have the whole thing planned and to know exactly what he was doing so who was Charles to argue with him?  
His eyes were closed; he could so easily go to sleep right now if it weren't for the butterflies in his stomach. It wouldn't be long now before Erik 'popped his cherry'. He wondered how he was going to do it, what position they would need to be in, when something happened that caught him completely unawares.  
Erik had parted his cheeks and was prepping his hole... with his tongue!

"Ohhhhhhh fuck!" Charles moaned with delight.  
"Do you like that, Charles?"  
"Yessssssss"

His head was down, face buried in the duvet but he felt Erik's hands on him, easing his ass up into the air. Under other circumstances, he possibly would have been embarrassed by the position Erik guided him into; he found himself on all fours with his ass sticking right out but Erik's arm was under him, bracing him and his hand was parting his cheeks so he could have unrestricted access to his very tight, virgin hole.  
Erik kissed and licked and teased his opening for a long, long time; Charles's cock grew very hard during the process especially when Erik played with his balls while tongue fucking his ass.  
It felt so much more intimate than he'd expected it to. He'd known there would be some kind of closeness during the actual act of having sex but he hadn't anticipated Erik doing so much to his body beforehand. 

Charles was nearing exhaustion and he hadn't actively done anything yet. This was all on Erik. The older man hadn't been lying when he'd said he wanted it to be special and memorable for Charles. Heck, if they stopped right now it would still be the most memorably romantic evening he'd ever had in his life.  
He was so very aware of every little thing Erik was doing to him as the feeling of excitement pumped through his body but a part of him longed to see it too. Charles turned his head and found himself staring into a mirror that he'd failed to notice earlier; he wondered if it was meant to be romantic or creepy but either way he was happy for he could now watch Erik's enthusiasm. A part of him couldn't help noticing how very good Erik was at this, just how much practice had the man had? It made Charles feel a touch self-conscious, he was so inexperienced!  
Erik continued licking at his hole while his fist pumped Charles's rock hard cock. He pulled back and extended his thumb, sliding it ever so slowly past the less resistant ring of muscle which caused Charles to gasp. Erik looked up and saw Charles watching him in the mirror. He flashed a reassuring smile to the younger man and Charles smiled back though he was blushing too.

Erik alternated his thumb and tongue for some time while his other hand massaged the sensitive ball sac. Charles whimpered when Erik tugged on his erect cock. He was going to come any second but he didn't know if he was meant to tell Erik or not. Fortunately, Erik seemed to be able to sense such a thing for he pulled away and helped Charles roll onto his back then he leaned down and engulfed the rock hard cock in his mouth. Mere seconds later, Charles came and spilled his seed deep in Erik's throat. He cried out in absolute delight as Erik's mouth milked every little bit of come from his cock.  
Already spent and exhausted, Charles struggled to draw breath. Erik crawled up his body, brushed the stray strands of hair from his beautiful face then leaned down and kissed him. It was a very strange kiss for Charles could taste traces of something in Erik's mouth... it was him! He could taste his own come in Erik's kiss. It was weird and sexy at the same time. Charles wrapped his arms around Erik and held him very close, never wanting the kiss to end.

"Are you alright, Charles?" Erik asked him. He sounded concerned.  
"I'm fine" he assured him. "Maybe a little overwhelmed?"  
"Overwhelmed?"  
"This is just all so new to me... I think I'm drunk on love"  
His face flushed again. Fuck, did he just tell Erik he loved him?  
"It's probably just the champagne" Erik gave him a way out. "But I know it feels like love to me"  
Charles felt his heart rate increase at Erik's endearing words.

They kissed for a long time while Charles recovered from his first orgasm of the evening, Erik was certain he could make him go off again before the end of the night. No, he was determined to make him.  
Erik held Charles in his arms while they kissed, each taking their time to fully explore the other. Charles was slightly hesitant to touch too much of Erik and kept his touches primarily to his neck and chest. Erik was very well formed with very strong, broad shoulders. Charles had known this, of course, but it was vastly different being able to see up close and touch with his own hands. He was already becoming accustomed to the feel of Erik's skin against his, even if he did feel slightly inadequate size-wise. Erik was much taller, more muscular and all around bigger than Charles. He felt safe yet intimidated at the same time.  
They were moving closer to the big moment and Charles was starting to let his nerves get the better of him. He still hadn't been able to look at Erik in all his naked glory, afraid he'd be overwhelmed by the size of the man's cock. He hoped he wasn't offending him by not looking at or wanting to touch it.

"It's not too late" Erik whispered.  
"Late for what?" Charles asked.  
"For us to stop"  
Charles sat up in shock and stared at him with a look of utter fear in his eyes.  
"You want to stop?" He sounded hurt.  
"What? No!" Erik also sat up. He'd expected Charles to be nervous but not so jumpy. He placed a hand on his shoulder and looked directly into his eyes. "I want this to last all night but I also want you to be absolutely certain that this is what you want"  
"Erik-"  
"Tell me to stop and I will, tell me to make love to you and I will"

Charles wrapped his arms around Erik's neck and stared into his deep, lust filled yet concerned eyes.  
"I want you, Erik" he insisted. "I've never wanted anything more in my entire life... I want this, I want you, I want you to make love to me right here, right now"

His words were heartfelt and convincing. Erik kissed him appreciatively before running his fingers down Charles's arm to take hold of his hand then he guided Charles's hand towards his cock. He had, of course, noticed the way the younger man had avoided looking at his erection. He watched the expression on Charles's face as his hand came in contact with Erik's very large, thick cock.  
His eyes widened and Erik smiled, he could see the younger lad's mind whirring as he tried to comprehend how something so large could fit in something so small.

"You're nervous" it wasn't a question but Charles nodded in response.  
"I understand" Erik assured him. "You have every reason to be but I promise I'll take care of you"  
Charles nodded again.  
"Did you want me to prepare you a bit more?" He loved the way Charles blushed at the question.  
"With... with your tongue again... you mean?" Erik nodded his head. "It was... nice"

Erik grinned and kissed Charles before easing him back down onto his stomach. Charles took a deep breath as he waited for Erik to touch him again. He felt his cheeks part then Erik's tongue was there, lapping at his hole. Charles whimpered appreciatively as Erik worked him loose. Now that Charles was aware of just how big Erik was, he would happily allow the other man as much time as possible to prepare him.  
He hoped it wasn't too boring for Erik, just continually lapping at Charles's hole but the older man was very enthusiastic. Erik eventually pulled away and slid off the bed, he was back within seconds and started pouring lube onto his index finger.

"This may feel strange" he wanted to be honest with Charles. "If it's too much, tell me to stop and I'll stop"  
"I'm not made of glass, Erik, you don't have to coddle me"  
"I know" he said with a kiss "but I want to"

He took his lubed finger and very slowly slipped it inside the already teased opening. Charles groaned at the penetration and squeezed his eyes shut. Neither of them moved, letting the muscles flex around the thick digit. Erik poured more lube around the hole so he could add a second finger. Charles cried out again as Erik scissored his fingers, stretching him wider and making him beg for more. Taking as many precautions as he could, Erik slid a third finger inside Charles.

"Are you okay, Charles?"  
"I'm fine, Erik, it feels so... so... odd"  
Erik placed a kiss to the small of Charles's back. He left his fingers in place for some time, wanting the younger man to have adequate time to adjust. When he finally retracted his hand, Charles moaned and Erik smiled. He loved the beautiful sounds Charles constantly made just for him.

He used a damp towel to clean his hand then he reached for a condom. He desperately wanted to bareback but he wanted Charles to know he could trust him and that meant being safe. He slipped the rubber over his already erect cock. Then he helped Charles roll onto his back, he adjusted the pillows around him to make him as comfortable as possible. Charles was very compliant, putting all of his trust in the older man.  
Erik positioned Charles's legs so he had the best access to his sweet spot. He poured more lube onto his cock then found the right spot between his open legs.

Charles's heart was beating frantically and he reached for Erik's hand, entwining their fingers. Erik leaned down and tenderly kissed his lips. It was enough to ease some of Charles's nerves. Erik guided his cock into Charles's and very slowly inched the rock hard organ past the ring of muscles.  
Erik groaned with pleasure while Charles winced in pain. Despite all his efforts, Erik's large cock still hurt. They stayed perfectly still, hands locked, as Charles's body took its time to adjust to the violation of Erik's cock. The older man gently stroked his thigh in what he hoped was a comforting gesture.

The couple remained in place for a long time, simply staring into each other's eyes. Then Erik began to move his hips in very slow motions. He wasn't exactly used to taking things slow but he'd go at a snail’s pace if it would help make this enjoyable for Charles. They moved in perfect sync even if it was a mild pace. Erik shifted his position and Charles cried out as an extra wave of pleasure washed over him.

"What did you just do?" Charles asked him.  
"I found your sweet spot" Erik replied.  
"Can you find it again?"

Erik was more than happy to oblige and he made a point of hitting Charles's prostate with every thrust. The younger man alternated between screaming incoherently and crying out Erik's name. He hadn't enjoyed sex this much in a long time. His recent hook-ups had been harried copulations, nothing like this at all and not that recent either. Since his accident, he hadn’t had many opportunities for sex. It wasn’t like men were throwing themselves at a washed up athlete… Gold medal winner or not, his accident had sent him off the grid. Out of sight; out of mind.  
But that was definitely not the case for Charles; Erik had gone to ground and disappeared from the spotlight but not entirely. For Charles seemed to have thought of him often, the younger man must have spent months learning his program in order to recreate it. He’d not chosen one of his easier routines either, Charles had picked the one routine that Erik had choreographed himself from start to finish including a move that the older man had crafted himself. Erik never bothered to trademark it but the press had dubbed it ‘The Lensherr Loop’.  
So perhaps their paths had always been destined to cross? Erik was so very thankful that fate had set him on this path to be the one to claim Charles's virginity. So many factors had come together to make sure they could be here, together, like this.  
Erik continued to tease Charles's prostate until the younger man's cock was rock hard again. He wrapped his fist around the erection and slowly pumped it in time with his thrusts. This went on for several long minutes until Charles could take it no longer and he came, shooting his load all over Erik's chest and himself. Erik leaned down and kissed him, burying his tongue in Charles's mouth as he too came.

Their hearts were beating rapidly as they collapsed in a sated heap. Erik placed a kiss to Charles's forehead then another on his lips. Charles smiled sleepily at him then watched as Erik got up, discarded the used condom and cleaned himself up. He made his way back to Charles's side and cleaned him up too.  
Erik then lay down beside him and pulled Charles into his arms, cocooning him in a protective embrace and kissing his lips.

"That was... amazing, Charles" Erik whispered. "Thank you"  
"You're thanking me?" Charles asked in awe.  
"For giving such a special part of yourself to me"  
"Thank you for wanting it"  
They held each other and exchanged gentle kisses for a long time. Erik wanted to say more but didn't want to spoil the moment. 

"You know I can't stay, right?" Charles said.  
"I know" Erik agreed. "Are you okay? I mean, you and Raven"  
"I don't regret being here with you, Erik. And my sister should be happy for me. She's teased me for being a virgin for too long"  
"When did she lose hers?"  
"Her seventeenth birthday with her boyfriend of three months... he broke up with her a week later"  
"Asshole"  
"Yeah, he was"

"So... Who was your first kiss?" Erik asked him.  
"Well who was yours?" Charles replied.  
"Her name was Elsbeth; she was two years older and absolutely beautiful"  
"Were you in love with her?"  
"It was just a kiss, Charles, on New Year’s Eve"  
"Romantic"  
"A little bit... what about yours?"  
"I don't know who he was"  
"Were you drunk?"  
"A little bit"  
"Please, talk me through it"

Charles had his back to Erik which made it easier to admit out loud.  
"It was my first Championships and I had a bit too much to drink at the after party" he confessed. "I left early and was making my way back to my room when someone grabbed me and pulled me into the alcove with the vending machines because the lightbulb had blown and it was really dark in there"  
Erik felt an uneasy feeling wash over him.  
"But I know he was tall and spoke with an accent because he pushed me up against the vending machine and he kissed me. I tried to push him away but that just made him hold me tighter and he pressed himself right up against me... but it was so dark and I was disoriented so I couldn't see him"  
"You said he had an accent?"  
Charles nodded.  
"He groped me then whispered in my ear 'Verbotene Frucht'"  
"Forbidden Fruit" Erik translated. "It's German. Coach Shaw says it a lot"

Erik leaned in and kissed Charles's neck.  
"It does seem a fitting way to describe you, love"  
"Oh? How so?" Charles rolled over and looked at him.  
"Because up until now you were the one thing everyone wanted but no one could ever have, the virgin prince"  
"You can have me, Erik. I will always be yours"  
He sealed this promise with another kiss and they stayed in each other’s arms for a long time. But something about Charles's story just didn't sit right with Erik. Was it possible the man who'd stolen Charles's first kiss was really Sebastian Shaw? Erik wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

*

Charles stayed as late as he could; he even managed to talk Erik into another round of lovemaking even if it didn't last quite as long as their first time. Then he kissed him goodbye and reluctantly left his arms, returning to the harsh reality of his own lonely hotel room.  
Raven was asleep on the other bed, no doubt she'd tried to stay awake so she could yell at him upon his return but he was in too good a mood to let that ruin it. He showered and crawled into bed with the biggest smile on his face.

He overslept and found himself in such a rush to get to the rink that he made registration by the skin of his teeth. Today was a big day for him and his fellow skaters for today was the short program which would determine half of their overall score.  
The morning passed in a blur as he tried to avoid Raven and hoped to bump into Erik. Eventually it was time to take to the ice for the warm up and Charles hurried to lace his skates. He stepped onto the ice and started moving in wide circles, he felt a little stiff and his ass was still a little sensitive. He spun around and saw Erik skating off to the side. Was he supposed to join him or continue the charade of just being competitors? When Erik looked up, their eyes met and Charles felt the familiar tug of butterflies in his stomach. He just wanted to throw himself into the man's arms and kiss him in front of everyone but no, now was not the time.

The warning was called and the skaters cleared the ice, to prepare for their own performances. Charles was scheduled to skate fifth while Erik was slated to go second. Normally Charles would avoid watching his competition but he wasn't going to miss the chance to watch Erik skate.

The first skater took to the ice, a young man from France that Charles had competed against before. He was good but a little too hot-headed. His routine was clean and Charles cheered for him but his real focus was on Erik.  
From the moment Erik stepped onto the ice, he was in complete control of himself, the ice and the audience. His entire program had Charles enthralled from start to finish, if he hadn't already been in love with him then that routine alone would have won him over... It was as though Erik had been skating for him and only him. A routine that was designed to welcome him into his bed then make him never want to leave. It was breathtaking, sensual and seductive. Charles had to work extra hard to keep his nether region under control.  
Pietro Maximoff from Russia was on fourth, Charles having been too in awe of Erik's performance to take in any of the third skaters program. Pietro had made a name for himself in pairs skating by competing with his twin sister Wanda but she had retired from the circuit after becoming pregnant. Charles looked around and spotted her with Pietro's coach, her husband and their child. He wondered if he should say hello but it was too late now for Pietro had already taken to the ice.

By the time Charles's name was called, he was a nervous wreck. He never used to get nervous before competition; this was because Erik was watching. He was skating for the man he'd idolised for years. Charles didn't want to disappoint his love.  
He moved onto the ice and prepared to begin. The music started and he began to skate but his movements were not quite right, his body still felt off. He glided across the rink, sticking to his short program but not perfectly. His triple toe loop ended up only being a double and he landed sloppily. Charles winced when he moved and it occurred to him that having anal sex for the first time the night before a competition may not have been his smartest decision. The rest of his program wasn't as bad and he felt mildly confident that he hadn't bombed out completely.  
He skated off the ice and straight into Raven's arms. She immediately began to comfort him and assure him that all was not lost; he could still recover in the free skate. He held her hand as he nervously waited for his score. It wasn't his best but it wasn't his worse as it placed him third on the leader board. If the next skater performed well, Charles wouldn't place.  
Charles was too nervous to stay and watch so he high tailed it out of there with Raven by his side.

*

Erik couldn't believe how close Charles had come to completely botching his short program. He'd never seen the younger man perform so badly and he felt awful. His Coach, Sebastian, was beside himself with glee for Erik was currently sitting at the number one ranking with Pietro Maximoff ranked second.

"I honestly thought he was going to wipe-out" Shaw was saying.  
"Me too" there was no thrill in Erik's tone.

"You know" Shaw paused, deep in thought. "If I didn't know better, I'd suspect you had a hand in this"  
"Excuse me?" Erik turned and rounded on Shaw.  
"Well it wouldn't be the first time you seduced someone to secure a win"  
"This is nothing like that!"  
"Oh my Erik! Did you pop the virgin prince's cherry?"  
"Maybe"  
"Oh wonderful! Wonderful! Erik, I could not be more proud than if I'd personally asked you to do it! You knew he was your biggest threat and the only way to do it properly was to seduce him... I was prepared to perhaps break a limb but ripping his heart out works just as well"  
"I didn't rip his heart out!"  
"You're going to wait and do it before the free skate? Even better! That piece of verbotene frucht was just ripe for the taking. Tell me, Erik, was it worth defiling his body to guarantee a win for yourself?"

"Alright, that's enough!" Erik snapped at Shaw. He forcefully grabbed the man and pushed him against the nearest locker.  
"I don't want you to talk about, think about or even look at Charles ever again!" Erik hissed. "What happened between him and me is just that, between him and me. I don't give a fuck about this stupid competition, all I care about is him... and if my being with him is what caused him to fail today then I will do everything I can to make it up to him even if that means quitting and forfeiting my position"

He released his coach and turned around to discover they were no longer alone in the dressing room. Moira was staring at him with a mix of shock and disbelief on her face. Erik's stomach dropped upon seeing her.

"Coach MacTaggart" he greeted her. "How long have you been...?"  
"Long enough"  
"Were you... alone?"  
"Oh no, Charles and Raven were with me"  
"How much did he hear?"  
"Not much just the 'worth defiling his body' part before he ran off, Raven went after him"  
"Why did you stay?"  
"To hear your answer"  
"I should go to him... Explain"  
"No, no, no, no, no, no... you're not going anywhere near him until you explain yourself to me only then will I decide if you should be anywhere near him"  
Erik nodded his head in agreement. He would happily explain everything to her if she was the only barrier between him and Charles.

*

Charles didn't stay long enough to hear Erik's reply, Shaw's words had been hard enough to stomach; he turned on his heel and fled as quickly as possible. Raven was quick on her feet and managed to keep up with him every step of the way. Charles made it to the street and flagged the nearest taxi. They climbed in and Charles stated the name of their hotel.  
Raven did not attempt to engage him in conversation but she watched him very closely, expecting him to breakdown any minute. They made it back to the hotel and up to Charles's room before he collapsed in a fit of tears. She stood by the door and watched as her brother fell to pieces before her eyes.

"I trusted him" he sobbed. "I thought he loved me"  
She made her way over and sat down beside him.  
"Did he really defile your body?" She asked.  
"Twice" Charles admitted.  
"I'm sorry, Charles"

Raven crawled across the floor to the minibar and pulled every single bottle from the shelf then she returned to his side and dumped all the alcohol before him.  
"There's only one sure-fire cure for a broken heart" she told him. "Getting yourself completely pissed"  
She picked up a bottle, removed the cap and handed it to Charles. He downed the contents in one go then leapt to his feet, ran into the bathroom and locked the door. Her brother had always been a lightweight when it came to alcohol but she knew that wasn't what had sent him into hiding. He was hurting and he was about to breakdown, something he'd never wanted her to see.

Charles leaned back against the closed door, buried his face in his hands and cried.


	3. Chapter 3

Despite not getting much sleep as thoughts of Charles kept him up most of the night, Erik finally drifted off around dawn but was awakened merely an hour later by his phone going off. He knew it wouldn't be Charles for the younger man didn't have his number but he reached for the phone anyway, hoping it was good news. It was a text from fellow skater, Pietro Maximoff.  
Pietro had placed second in the short program yesterday but had already congratulated Erik, he wondered what was so urgent that he'd felt the need to text him so early in the morning.

'Who knew that's what he's been hiding under that leo all this time?'  
Erik frowned, not amused by the inclusion of a smiley face emoti but there was an attachment that he clicked. The link directed him to a photograph that made his heart physically stop beating. It was Charles, lying on Erik's bed with his union jack scarf covering his eyes. Whoever had posted the image had strategically placed a smiley emoticon over Charles's erection.  
Erik dropped the phone, his hands shaking in shock. He recognized the image; he'd taken it himself on his own phone. How on earth had it found its way to social media?

He pulled himself together and snatched the phone up. No one but he ever used his phone, no one even knew his passcode since he'd changed it the other day after Sebastian had... Erik felt the nausea beginning to take hold as he checked his sent messages. Sure enough, there was an outgoing message to Shaw's phone with a photo attachment. He opened it just to be sure then threw the phone across the room in anger.

Erik leapt out of bed and flew down the hall to the other man's room where he stopped in front of it and proceeded to bang as loudly as humanly possible. He didn't care if he woke up every guest on the floor; he needed to yell at Shaw.  
He stood in the hall, hitting the door repeatedly until security showed up and attempted to escort him from the hotel. He argued and insisted he was a guest. In the end, security took him back to his own room and gave him a warning not to disturb the other guests of the hotel.

Unable to reach Shaw, he picked up his tablet and was horrified to see how far the image had already spread. Several large new sites had shared the story and the photo was even trending on twitter. He was very surprised that a professional skater could actually become a trending topic.  
Erik felt sick to the stomach. This was entirely his fault. He never should have abused Charles's trust by taking the photo nor should he have allowed Shaw to get his hands on it. How on Earth was he going to fix this?

He knew he needed to get to Charles and explain himself or at least apologize... there probably was no way to explain a way out, he'd done the wrong thing and Charles had, once again, gotten hurt. Maybe Raven had been right all along and Erik was just bad for Charles. The younger man had had everything going for him before Erik had come along and used his body and broken his heart.  
Erik dressed quickly and left his room; he knew which floor Charles was staying on but not the exact room number. He figured he would just knock on each door until he found the correct room. 

In the lift he tried to plan out what he was going to say but nothing sounded good enough. How could he even begin to apologize for embarrassing him so? Charles was likely to go into hiding out of mortification and Erik had no idea how to make this right. He wondered if he’d have better luck getting through to Moira, she’d taken the time to hear him out the previous day and had assured him that she would try her best to get through to Charles, to explain that it had all been a misunderstanding but now that his had happened… He’d half expected her to come after him with a pitch fork.

The doors opened and he found himself face to face with her; she looked livid and her entire face hardened when she saw him.

"Moira, I need to talk to him" Erik blurted.  
"Oh No! No, no, no, no, no" she replied as she blocked the elevator door.  
Moira stepped into the lift and pressed a button a few floors below. It came to a stop and she yanked him out. For someone so tiny she had a hell of a grip. They stopped just short of the lift and she rounded on him.

"What the hell were you thinking?" She kept her voice down but he couldn't mistake the anger she was fighting back.  
"I wasn't!" Erik admitted.  
“After everything you said to me yesterday! You’re either the smoothest liar on Earth or the slimiest, most-”  
"I wasn't thinking when I took it, okay?" Erik cut her off.  
"So you admit it was you?"  
"Well who else could have taken a photo of him looking like that?" He didn't mean to snap but he was equally as angry, at himself and at Shaw.  
"Erik-"  
"I know my word means nothing to you but I swear I did not post it" he hurried to explain.  
"Then who did?"  
"Coach Shaw"  
"How? How did he get hold of it?"  
"He found it on my phone and sent it to himself but I didn't know! I never would have let him-"  
"Let him? Shaw does what he wants, whenever he wants to make sure he gets what he wants"  
"And right now, he wants me to win" he paused. "I swear, I didn't do this but I am well aware that it's my fault it's happened... Shaw got that picture because of me, he posted it because of me, he wants to ruin Charles to save my career"  
"And where do you stand in all this?"

He reached for her hand and stared deep into her eyes.  
"I just want Charles" Erik confessed to her. "I love him, Coach MacTaggert"  
"Shit" she swore "I actually believe you" She saw the look of relief on his face and kept talking. "After you stood up to Shaw then our talk yesterday, I really did feel you were being genuine but when that photo appeared this morning, I thought you'd played me as well as you'd played him"  
"I never wanted him to get hurt... I just wanted him to be happy. I wanted to be the one to make him happy"  
She felt her anger subside a little bit. She was still furious at him for taking the photo in the first place but she did truly believe there had been no malicious intent behind it.  
"Please, Coach MacTaggert" he began. "Please tell me how I can fix this"

"I don't know, Erik" she replied as honestly as possible. "Intentional or not, the damage has been done and I don't know if this is the kind of thing he can come back from. He trusted you and you betrayed that trust"  
"But how can I earn the trust back?"  
"I can't tell you that... if you want him back, you have to earn it yourself. Now if you'll excuse me, Charles needs me. I've organized a press conference for 11am to hopefully enact some damage control"

Erik watched her walk away, wishing he could go with her and be by Charles's side right now but no this was his fault, he had done this to his precious Charles and now he needed to find a way to fix it... and before tomorrow for there was no way either of them would be able to skate with this hanging over both their heads.

*

Moira left Erik in the hall and made her way back to the correct floor. She hadn't been entirely truthful with the man for as far as she knew, Charles still wasn't aware what had happened yet. According to Raven, after the incident at the rink, he'd switched his phone off and locked himself in the bathroom all night. She was certain Raven had coaxed him from the bathroom at some point but the exhausted lad was more than likely still asleep. Moira was not looking forward to breaking this news to him.

She unlocked the door and sure enough found Charles still sleeping. Raven was curled up on top of the covers of the other bed, she'd obviously been watching over him until he'd cried himself to sleep.  
Knowing this was not one of those times that Raven would be helpful, Moira chose to leave her sleeping. She quietly moved over to Charles and gently shook him awake.

His bloodshot eyes broke her heart and she hated having to do this. She placed her hand over his mouth to keep him quiet then pointed at Raven. He took her meaning and nodded his head. Moira removed her hand then nodded towards the bathroom.  
Charles was still dressed in his rumpled clothes from the previous day but he instantly followed her into the bathroom. She pushed the door closed and turned the shower on in case Raven awoke and wondered where he was.

"Moira, you're starting to scare me" his voice sounded hoarse.  
"I'm sorry, Charles, I don't mean to" she said.  
"If this is about Erik... I know I was an idiot and I let him play me and use me and humiliate me then toss me aside like some rag doll but I feel lousy enough as it is, I don't need a lecture from you about it too"  
"I'm sorry, Charles" she said again "but this can't wait"  
She pulled out her phone and accessed the internet then paused.  
"This is going to be hard but you can get past this" she assured him.  
Moira turned the phone towards him and the expression on his face broke her heart. There was so much pain in his eyes.

"Charles-"  
He reached out and took the phone from her, staring at the screen, his eyes not even blinking though they were filling with tears.  
"How did... Where..." he couldn't speak "where did you get that?"  
She paused for a moment, nervous how he'd react   
"It's all over social media"  
His knees gave out beneath him as he crumpled to the floor, clutching the phone in his hand.

"What?” Charles sobbed “he hadn't hurt me enough already?"  
"Charles, Erik didn't exactly do this"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Well… He admits to taking the picture but he didn't leak it. He says Coach Shaw did"  
Charles began to feel sick and he crawled over to the toilet but he hadn't eaten in nearly twenty four hours so he ended up dry retching into the bowl. Moira sank down beside him and gently rubbed his back.

"We have to get out in front of this" she explained. "I've arranged a press confer-"  
"What? No! Moira, I can't give a press conference, not about this!"  
"Charles, you have to. You can't hide from this. You either have to deny it or own it"  
"I can't... I can't lie and say it's not me but I can't admit that I... I let someone do that to me"  
"You've got four hours to make your decision, Charles"  
"That's not enough time!"  
"Do you want me to break this to Raven or would you prefer to do it yourself?"  
Charles shook his head as he fought back tears.  
"I can't face her, Moira, not over this"

She gently squeezed his shoulder in understanding.  
"I'll talk to her" she said sympathetically.

"And you're sure Erik didn't do this to me?" He asked her.  
"I'm sure, Charles. I spoke to him myself, in person. He told me that he took the photo but he never intended it to be made public"  
"Did he say why he took it?"  
"I didn't ask"

Charles nodded his head.  
"Please, Moira, I need some time alone"  
"I understand" she replied. "I'll be with Raven until you need us"  
She kissed the top of his head and took her leave. By the time she reached the door, she could already hear him crying.

*

Erik was practically beside himself for he had no idea how to fix this or even where to begin. His one hope was that Moira would explain to Charles how it had happened. He was prepared to take full responsibility for his actions but he didn't want Charles thinking he'd done this to purposely hurt him.

The clock was ticking for he knew Moira had called a press conference but he didn't know how they were going to address it. He knew they had several options, claim it was a fake as someone attempting to discredit Charles, admit to it being genuine but write it off as a joke gone too far or a phone being hacked. There was even the obvious option, the truth. That Sebastian Shaw had done it in a bid to knock Charles from the competition but that would also mean having to explain how Shaw got hold of it.

His phone went off again and he picked it up. Pietro was still texting him about it for he seemed to have found an uncensored version of the image online. He wasn't sure how he felt about another man texting crude things about his lover. For yes, in Erik's mind, Charles was his lover and he wanted to do everything in his power to protect him. If only he could think of something!

As though someone turned a lightbulb on over his head, an idea struck him and he texted Pietro. He told him it was important and urgent then asked him to meet him in Erik's hotel room. It was an absolutely brilliant idea and he hoped the other man would listen to him. It was possible his entire future with Charles was depending upon it.

*

Charles stayed in the bathroom a long time. He stripped off his clothes and threw himself into the shower since it was already on then he sank to the floor and he sobbed. Perhaps Erik hadn't done this on purpose but he had taken the photo without his consent.  
He felt dirty. Was that why Erik had blindfolded him in the first place? He'd just wanted to take photos of Charles in a vulnerable position? He leaned back and purposely knocked his head against the wall. What else could he have taken photos of? He wondered if Erik had somehow rigged a camera up when they'd made love the first time. Perhaps a video of him losing his v-card was about to be made public too?

He took several deep breaths as he attempted to calm himself. Moira was expecting him to be together in time for the press conference but he still didn't know what he was going to say. He knew he could throw Erik under the bus, it was only fair since he'd done it to him, but Charles didn't want Erik's name dragged through the mud with his. It was bad enough he was being surrounded by a scandal without having to drag Erik down with him.  
He finally turned the water off then unsteadily climbed out of the shower, drying himself on auto pilot before adjourning to his room and slowly getting dressed. Charles picked up a pen and paper to jot down what he wanted to say but fifteen minutes later all he had to show for it was Erik's name inside a love heart.  
He angrily tore the page up and threw it in the garbage. Erik had hurt him so why did he still think he was in love with him? 

Charles started again. This time he wrote one entire sentence before the words became obscured by his unshed tears. He knew he needed to pull himself together, he was stronger than this. Just because the first man he'd cared enough for to make himself vulnerable for had abused that trust that didn't make him weak... just gullible.  
Raven had been right all along and he wasn't looking forward to hearing her say 'I told you so'. He really hoped she wouldn't though, that she'd see how much he was hurting and let him ride out the waves of shame and disappointment on his own.  
Knowing he wasn't making any progress, he put the pen aside and curled up in a ball on the bed. He'd spent most of the past eighteen hours crying his heartache away only to have another dagger pierce his heart. Moira had tried to defend Erik's intentions this morning but that didn't change the initial damage... Erik had seduced him in order to ruin him; the photo must have just been a keepsake of his triumph.

He reached for his phone and started a search of social media. There were a lot of people out there who had very vocal opinions on the photo.  
Some were impressed by his vulnerability. That actually hurt. His eyes were covered so how did anyone know what he was thinking or feeling with half his face obscured?  
His search took a turn when he found the uncensored version of the image. This one had a lot more said about it, from people commenting on his size to others still wanting to see more. Several people wanted to know if there was video too. Charles prayed there wasn't.

The longer he stared at it, the worse he felt but something else stirred within him. The comments were right, he did appear vulnerable. His hand was clutching the duvet and he was biting down on his bottom lip... Even he was wondering what he would have looked like without the Union Jack scarf covering his face. It was no wonder Erik had taken a photo, Charles had never seen himself look like that before. Of course it did not excuse or forgive Erik's actions!  
He wondered what people believed was happening in this image. Did they know he was about to be corrupted for the first time or did they think he was secretly a slut who just pretended to play it innocent.

He kept searching and saw the official word from the skating officials stating that in light of recent events a press conference was scheduled for later that morning.  
Charles then began looking at the social media accounts of his fellow competitors. He was relieved and surprised to see none of them had shared, posted or commented on his scandal. He would be sure to thank them in his statement... if he ever managed to compose it.

Charles was still trolling social media when Moira and Raven returned. He braced himself for the reaming he was about to receive from his sister but it never came. She simply walked over to him and pulled him into a hug. He hugged her back while she whispered words of comfort in his ear.  
He didn't know what Moira had said to make her have a change of heart but he was very grateful.

Before he knew it, it was time to head to the rink and make his public statement. He chose his clothes very methodically and dressed without even realizing. He met Raven and Moira in the hall and the three of them headed for the lift. Raven linked her arm through his and rested her head on his shoulder.

"You'll be okay, Charles" she said to him. "You can do this"  
"Just remember to stay calm" Moira offered. "If you get nervous, have a sip of water. If someone asks a question you don't want to answer, just say 'no comment' and if you feel like you want to run away and hide, stay and face up to it, own it, Charles. You haven't done anything wrong here, sweetheart, you don't have to feel ashamed but even if you do, you have every right to feel however you feel"  
"Thank you, Moira" he smiled gratefully at her.

The doors opened and they stepped into the lobby. Charles could already feel the wandering eyes of other patrons watching him and tried not to feel self-conscious. He felt Raven squeezing his arm and smiled at her; he was so thankful to have her by his side.  
Charles and Raven followed Moira outside, past the waiting photographers and members of the press shouting questions at him. It was humiliating seeing fans and random strangers holding up enlarged copies of the image... at least they were the censored version. He climbed into the car and felt an impending panic attack. Raven held his hand and gently petted his back.

"I still have no idea what I'm going to say" he admitted to her.  
"A momentary lapse of judgement in which someone you thought you could trust took advantage of your naivety" she suggested.  
"You want me to tell the press that I'm naive?"  
"It's the truth, Charles. You always try to see the good in people. You give them too many chances and you're the one who always ends up hurt"  
He rested his head on her shoulder.  
"I really thought we had something" he whispered. "That I mattered to him" he sniffled "I was falling in love with him"  
"I know" she cupped his head in her hand and tried to soothe him. "I know, I'm sorry, Charles"  
"You were right"  
"I didn't want to be"  
"I was a bloody idiot and I said some things to you that I shouldn't have-"  
"Charles, none of that matters, you're my brother and I love you, regardless of how much we argue and disagree"  
"Thanks for not saying 'I told you so'"  
She kissed the top of his head.

Moira sat in the front seat, listening to the exchange between the siblings. She knew Charles was hurting but a part of her did believe that Erik's feelings for him were genuine and she had told Raven as much. Maybe after some time to reflect and recover, she'd tell Charles this truth.

They were early so Moira bustled them both into a small meeting room and attempted to keep a stream of encouragement directed at Charles that he didn't appear to be listening to. Moira was worried though for she had chosen to keep a vital piece of information from Charles and was wrestling with whether to tell him now or not. She didn't wish to scare him more than he already was but she didn't want him blindsided by the press either.

"Charles" she began. "The NSF have made a statement and depending on how this goes today... there's a chance you may be disqualified and not able to compete tomorrow"  
"What?" Raven shouted in ager but Charles was completely numb.  
"For Conduct Unbecoming of a professional athlete" Moira explained.  
"It was just a photo" Raven argued.  
"A nude photo, Raven"

Charles buried his face in his hands but to his credit, he did not cry. He didn't think he had any tears left to shed.  
If this had been Erik's plan all along, why didn't he just post the photo the day after he took it? That would have kept Charles from the competition altogether and Erik wouldn't have had to sleep with him.  
He was starting to feel sick again. Sleeping with him had always been a part of Erik's plan; he'd admitted it the night they met. Erik had wanted Charles's virginity and he had been naive enough to give it to him.  
Publicly humiliating Charles in retaliation for him embarrassing Erik with the skating video had obviously been the main objective, sleeping with him had just been the icing on the cake. He should have known not to trust him. He'd been so infatuated with his own fantasized version of Erik that he'd failed to see the obvious. That Erik had played him right from the beginning.

He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled; he repeated this twice more before climbing to his feet and holding his head up high. He could do this! He wasn't weak, he was just human. He'd allowed himself to make a mistake and now he could learn from said mistake.  
Charles loosened his tie a little bit, feeling very self-conscious, and he started towards the door. Moira wished he'd managed to prepare a proper speech then she could possibly have stepped in at the last minute to deliver it but she was also proud of him for facing up to this, despite the hurt and heartache he was currently battling.

They stepped out of the room and headed towards the conference hall. Charles kept his head held high, so focused on the destination that he failed to notice all the people around him. Raven, of course, took note and immediately nudged Moira.

"What are they all doing here?" She whispered.  
"I have no idea" Moira whispered back, equally as confused.  
There were so many familiar faces lining the hall, those of current skaters and former competitors. Most of them were smiling which was a little disconcerting that they appeared to be enjoying Charles's possible downfall. Moira couldn't help feeling disappointed; Charles had been the perfect gentleman to each and every one of them over the years. It was hard to watch.  
She stepped in front of Charles and prepared to lead him into the main hall. Charles gripped Raven's hand and held on very tight. The door opened and Moira went inside. He could see the flashes of all the cameras as she took to the stage.

"Everything will be alright, Charles" a familiar voice drawled in his ear.  
Charles turned and noticed Wanda for the first time. She was smiling when she leaned in to hug him.  
"Wanda, what are you doing here?" He asked her.  
"I may not be competing but I wished to take part. I am very proud of my breasts"  
Her accent was very thick and there had always been a slight language barrier between them but Charles was honestly very confused by her words. Before he could question her further, Pietro was by her side and he too offered a comforting hug.  
"We, how you say, got your back?" He said to Charles.

Now more confused than ever but an official from the NSF appeared and indicated for him to step into the room. Charles reluctantly released Raven and moved forward. Wanda and Pietro were right behind him.  
The cameras blinded him and it took him a moment to assess the room. He'd never seen it so full before, so many members of the press were squeezed in to every available seat and around the room were his fellow competitors... all except one.  
He carefully looked around for any sign of him, not that he really expected him to be here... unless it too was part of his plan.

Charles heard Moira at the podium, leading up to introducing him so he could address the press but before she was able to say his name, another cut her off. Charles looked up and saw Erik, standing by the podium at Moira's side. She appeared confused but Erik was determined.  
Charles waited to see what would happen. Would Moira really hand the press conference over to him?

"It is okay" Wanda assured him. "All part of plan"  
Of course he had no idea what the plan was so it was hard to accept everything was 'okay'. His entire skating future was on the line here.

*

Erik waited till the last moment possible before he stepped in. He'd started moving closer and closer to Moira so he could be ready before she was.

"And so, Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, I-" Moira stopped when she felt a hand on her arm. She knew it wasn't Charles so she turned and found herself face to face with Erik Lensherr.  
"You shouldn't be here" she muttered under her breath while smiling reassuringly at the press.  
"Moira, please?" Erik whispered.  
"Erik, this isn't a joke"  
"I know!" He physically escorted her back from the microphone and lowered his voice. "Please, trust me on this. Charles's future depends on this, please let me fix it"  
"Why should we trust you?"  
"Because I love him, Moira, and if you do too then you will trust me"

She was completely torn as she turned and saw all the familiar faces staring at her.  
"Our fellow skaters are here for a reason" Erik explained. "They're all here to help so if you can't trust me, then trust them. Please?"  
Moira took a deep breath then sighed. She really, really hoped she was doing the right thing. She slowly nodded her head then stepped up to the microphone.  
"Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr Erik Lensherr" she said before stepping aside and off the stage. Moira cast her gaze over at Charles, he looked very green.

"Thank you, Coach MacTaggart" Erik said into the microphone before turning his attention to the room at large. "You all know who I am... I'm Erik Lensherr"  
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper.  
"And we all know why we're here... because of a photograph that appeared on social media this morning. A photograph of my fellow competitor, Charles Xavier, in what can only be described as a compromising position"  
Erik reached into his bag, pulled out his laptop and turned the screen to face everyone. The censored version of the image was on display for everyone to see. He looked up, his eyes scanning the room and sought Charles; his head was down and his hand was covering his eyes.

"I'm sure everyone in this room had a different reaction upon seeing it. Some possibly saw it as being in poor taste; others maybe viewed it as a harmless joke. There is nothing funny about it... When I look at this picture, I see a beautiful, strong, mature, selfless, caring man who allowed himself to be seen in a vulnerable position and..." he paused. "I know this to be true because I took this photograph myself"

There was an immediate buzz around the room as speculation began over the nature of Erik's relationship with Charles. He held his hand up to silence the large crowd.

"I took this" he stated. "But my phone was stolen and the image was taken without my knowledge or my consent. It then made its way to social media without the knowledge or consent of Charles Xavier. The person responsible for this… did it out of spite and resentment. With the intention to discredit, hurt and humiliate Mr Xavier"

Erik folded up the piece of paper he'd been reading from and slipped it into his pocket.

"The NSF have stated that an enquiry will be held to determine a way to rectify this situation. One option is to disqualify Mr Xavier for conduct unbecoming... I personally feel this is wrong for this photograph does not reflect his skating ability nor should he be penalized for events that were beyond his control. Here is a young man who is proud to be himself, proud to be an athlete and proud to represent his country"

Erik reached into his other pocket and pulled out his phone.  
"I stand before you all today to tell you that I too am proud of my fellow competitor and proud to represent my country in a sport that I love. And I am here to show my support in the same way that Mr Xavier has"

Erik unlocked his phone, opened his social media feed and sent an image to his official twitter, facebook and instagram feeds. He looked around as one by one each of his fellow skaters followed suit.  
He turned to his laptop and pressed a few keys, bringing up his twitter page. His most recent post was a photograph of himself. Erik was lying on the bed with a German flag across his eyes and a wicked grin upon his lips, his chest was bare except for a handmade sign with a hashtag. Below the sign, Erik's large cock was on display for all to see.

Raven quickly pulled out her phone and searched for the hashtag. Images were already appearing alongside retweets of Erik's picture.  
Wanda's post was an image of her in an identical pose, the Russian flag across her eyes and the hashtag sign covering her genitalia while her breasts were exposed, an emoti covered each nipple tastefully.

"I told you I was proud of my breasts" Wanda said to Charles who was looking over Raven's shoulder.

All around the room people were pulling out their phones and searching the hashtag. Pietro's image was there too along with the skater from France. Two of the couples who regularly competed in the pairs skating had also posted images of themselves. Every photo had several things in common, the use of the hashtag, the inclusion of the flag of the skaters home country and the skater themselves in a state of undress, though Erik was the only one to completely expose his naked body.

Erik remained on the stage as the members of the press became confused and disorganized. Half were frantically searching social media while others struggled to think of a question to ask of Erik but he only had eyes for Charles. He had no idea how the younger man was going to react to this; he only hoped that Charles would give him a chance to explain himself.

"Mr Lensherr" someone called out. "What do you hope to gain by exposing yourself and your fellow athletes like this?"  
"Forgiveness from Mr Xavier for my part in this" he began "and justice from the NSF for if they choose to disqualify him, they will effectively have to disqualify all of us"

Erik closed his laptop, picked it up and started to walk away. He paused next to Moira and met her eyes. She simply gave him a single nod of her head and he assumed it to mean that he'd done right. He just hoped it was enough.

*

Charles and Raven left the room before the press could round on them. They rushed from the venue and out onto the street, neither of them knew or cared where they were going. Raven was still on her phone, watching the amount of posts with the hashtag go up and up. The public were getting behind it and it wasn't long before it ranked in the top ten trending topics. Charles was still in a state of shock especially when Raven squealed and grabbed his arm, waving her phone in his face.

"It's spreading!" She cried. "Oh my gosh, Charles, it's going completely viral"  
"What are you talking about?" He had no idea what she was saying.  
"It's not just skaters, Charles, it's all athletes from all over the world"

She held her phone up and showed it to him. It was true, more and more images were appearing online as athletes took to social media to share their own version of Charles's photo. Many were sporting their Country's flag and new hashtags were appearing, everything from #athletessticktogether to #nationalpride though his personal favourite was the one directed towards him, #forcharles  
It all brought more tears to his eyes but they were tears of relief and happiness, knowing he had so many people on his side filled him with such pride. Erik had gone above and beyond to save him from being disqualified and had somehow managed to get athletes from all around the world to fight for him.  
Did it change what Erik had done in the first place? No. But perhaps it did earn him a face to face with Charles so he could hear him out, let him explain for himself.

Social media was abuzz for the remainder of the day. Charles's original photo was shared around again but this time he was less embarrassed for it was now being included with the offerings made by his peers. He simply couldn't believe how many athletes had chosen to get involved. Charles wondered how Erik had managed to pull it off.

The best news of the day was when word officially came from the NSF that Charles was not being disqualified and he was still able to perform his free skate the following day.  
He went out for dinner that night to celebrate. Everywhere he went, he was greeted with cheers of support or even random people on the street just screaming the hashtags at him. It was very surreal and lifted his spirits.  
His entire life had spiralled and shifted in the past twenty four hours. It wasn't the first time something of his had gone viral online because of Erik Lensherr but he hoped it would be the last.  
Moira and Raven were both very giddy and excited for Charles's free skate the following day but he was now very nervous, he couldn't help feeling even more eyes were on him, even more pressure to do well especially since he'd almost bombed his short program the previous day. It was an odd feeling, he was torn between relief at not being disqualified and absolute terror at completely failing his performance tomorrow and letting every single athlete who'd posted in support of him down.

Charles eventually broke and told the two women that he was done for the night. He excused himself, stating he needed a good night's sleep to be mentally and physically ready to skate in the morning. He bid them goodnight and returned to the hotel long enough to grab his skates then he headed straight for the abandoned skate park to practice.  
It was late and cold by the time he finally reached his destination. He changed into his skates and moved into starting position. Charles ran through his short program, doing a much better job than he'd done in the competition but it helped to ease some of his nerves. Once he felt more confident and more comfortable with his less aching body, he began to move more freely in the open space. It wasn't exactly the same as being on the ice but it was a nice alternative. At least here there was no one around to see if he fell.

He performed a triple toe loop but the landing was a touch sloppy. His mind was becoming clouded with memories of being here with Erik. He could still feel the older man's presence, the way they had moved together, how easily and gracefully Erik had lifted, twirled and held him.  
Charles stumbled and found himself on his ass on the concrete. He punched the ground in anger which just hurt his hand and failed to make him feel better. He got to his feet and started gliding again.  
Then he found himself remembering his time in Erik's bed, being held and kissed so tenderly before their lovemaking... No, before Erik had fucked him over.  
Tears formed in his eyes, obscuring his vision and he stumbled again. This time when he fell, he stayed on the ground, unable to pull himself back up.

None of this made any sense. Was Erik really that good an actor or had Charles just been that desperate, so infatuated with the man of his dreams that he'd been blinded by his years long crush?  
Erik had been so open and honest, so sweet and genuine, so patient and gentle.  
He didn't bother to wipe the tears away. His first time ever having sex had been everything he'd wanted it to be and Erik had made sure of it. He'd planned it all so perfectly, had taken every consideration... Had given Charles so many opportunities to stop, to walk away and Charles had stayed! Had been so taken in, had been played so easily that he couldn't have stopped even if he'd wanted to... but he hadn't wanted to. He'd wanted it, had wanted Erik, had begged him for it... and had fucking thanked him afterwards!

Charles buried his face in his hands and let the tears flow freely for several long minutes.  
Erik had taken that photo of him without his knowledge or his consent. Would he'd allowed it if asked? Probably. He had been putty in Erik's hands and would have done just about anything the man asked of him.  
Yet Erik had stepped in this morning and turned the hands of the NSF to ensure that Charles wasn't removed from the competition. Sure, he'd been covering his own ass since the photo had originated from his phone but he insisted he hadn't leaked it... Then why had he taken it in the first place?  
He tried to stop the tears but now that he was alone, with no one to rein him in, he could let it all out. 

"I'd hoped I'd find you here"  
The voice wasn't overly loud but it pierced straight through his heart. Charles shot up and climbed unsteadily to his feet as he hastily wiped the tears from his face. He kept his back to Erik for a moment before turning and facing him.  
Charles didn't know what to say so he just stood there, staring at Erik and trying not to crumble.

"I don't even know where to begin" Erik said. "I'm sorry doesn't sound like enough... But I am truly, truly very sorry for everything, Charles. I never should have taken that photo. It was wrong and selfish of me... you just looked so beautiful, I wanted to remember that moment forever and I did something very stupid. No one but me was ever meant to see it... I thought it was going to be all I'd have to remember you" he paused. "It all felt like such a surreal dream... It was just too good to be true. When I asked you to wait twenty four hours, I honestly didn't think you'd come back to me... That I was deluding myself into thinking I could ever be good enough for you, that you would ever want me"

Erik reached into his jacket and pulled out Charles's scarf.  
"I still have this" he held it up. "You left it in my room and I was going to keep it but… Well, it's yours so..."  
He held it out but Charles didn't move closer to take it. The younger man still hadn't said a word.

"I never wanted to hurt you" Erik continued. "Nor did I mean to shift any of the blame for what happened off of myself... but I needed to take responsibility for my part in what did happen and I asked Pietro for his help... I only intended to post a photo of myself but when I told him my idea, he insisted on posting one too and he told Wanda, who'd always had a bit of a thing for you, and she wanted to help too and it just spiralled"  
He twisted the scarf nervously in his hands.  
"It doesn't excuse what I did, betraying your trust and exposing you online like that... I'll understand completely if you choose not to forgive me... frankly, I don't believe I even deserve your forgiveness for my reckless, careless behaviour but for what little its worth, I really am sorry Charles"

Charles continued to stare Erik; he didn’t know what to say to him.  
“So you didn’t defile my body just so you could win?” he heard himself ask.  
Erik’s heart dropped. Of course, Moira probably hadn’t had the chance to talk to him yet in light of the recent photo scandal which meant that Charles still believed Erik had slept with him to sabotage his skating.  
“No!” Erik shouted. “Charles, I promise, sleeping with you had nothing to do with the competition. I slept with you because I… I wanted to. Everything I said to you the night we met was true… And I just wanted to be with you… I know you overheard Shaw say something about me using you but I swear it wasn’t true, Charles”

“I heard him say a lot” Charles said. “Like… it wasn’t the first time you’d done it”  
“That part is true” Erik saw the way Charles’s face fell. “But it’s not like it sounds… I did sleep with someone the night before a competition and it did stop him from competing”  
“Erik-”  
“But I promise he didn’t tell me he was a virgin so I didn’t know to be easy on him and we got a bit rough and… He had to bow out of the completion and Shaw paid him off to make sure he didn’t tell anyone”  
“You sure have had your share of scandals, Erik”  
“I never intended to drag you down with me, Charles”

The younger man finally stepped closer and held his hand out. Erik lifted the scarf and draped it around Charles’s neck. He then raised his finger and brushed a stray tear from the shorter man’s cheek. He didn’t fail to notice the way Charles leaned into his touch.  
Erik slowly leaned closer, intending to kiss Charles but the younger man shifted away, effectively shutting him down but he didn’t take offence. Erik was hopeful that Charles just needed a bit more time.

“Thank you for doing what you did to make them let me skate tomorrow” Charles said.  
“I’m sure you’ll do magnificently” Erik replied.  
“I blew my short program”  
“But you’ve always excelled in the free skate… I know you can do it, Charles”  
“Thank you for still believing in me”  
“I only hope that, one day, you’ll be able to believe in me again”

Erik leaned in and placed a gentle kiss to Charles’s forehead. There was so much more he wanted to say and do to the other man but he knew he needed to give him space. Charles needed time to recover and hopefully accept his apology.

“Good luck tomorrow, Charles” Erik whispered. “I’ll be cheering for you”  
“You too, Erik” Charles replied. 

He watched as the older lad turned and started to walk away. A part of him was tempted to call him back or chase after him but he still felt slightly numb and confused. Erik walked to the edge of the park then turned around and looked at Charles. The younger man raised his hand and waved; Erik smiled and returned the gesture before turning and continuing his exit. Charles stared until Erik had completely vanished from sight then he let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.  
This time tomorrow it would all be over and he could easily choose to never see Erik again but was that something he really wanted?

*

Erik sat on the bench in the locker room, alone, with his leg stretched out on the bench beside him. In his hand was a notebook and a pen which he was messily composing a letter. A twinge in his knee had him subconsciously reaching down to gently massage it. He paused; was it really a pain or just a phantom pain? He’d not had any issues with his injury in a long time so why would it be flaring up now?  
The locker room was empty as his fellow competitors were already heading up to the rink for their last minute practice skate. Erik had been out early this morning and had intended to join the others but he’d wanted to get this out first. There had been much left unsaid between him and Charles and he hadn’t really done the best job of explaining himself to the younger man. After today, the competition would be over and it could be months before he ever saw him again, if at all.

“Are you injured?”  
Erik looked up and found Charles watching him from the doorway. The younger man should have been on the ice with the other skaters.  
“Phantom pain, I think” Erik replied but he stopped rubbing his leg.

“Where’s Coach Shaw?” Charles asked.  
“Gone” Erik replied. “I fired him”  
“You did?” he sounded surprised.  
“He was a good Coach but he definitely wasn’t a good man. His methods were unorthodox and he got results but I turned a blind eye to too many things over the years and this… But what happened here, with you, it was… the final straw”  
“Erik-”  
“What he did to you was malicious and cruel and I’m sorry that I unwittingly gave him such a tool to use against you but... If you wish to take legal action against him and myself then I completely understand and will support your decision one hundred percent… I will, of course, be willing to testify against him on your behalf”  
“That won’t be necessary… I won’t be pressing charges against him or you”  
“There’s another reason I wanted him gone” Erik paused.  
“Oh?”  
“I’m not really sure if I should tell you this or not but… Coach Shaw was the one who kissed and assaulted you against the vending machine a few years ago”  
“What?” Charles’s eyes widened in surprise “how did… are you..?”  
Erik nodded as he carefully got to his feet.  
“He and I yelled a lot” he continued. “He didn’t take well to being fired and we argued about anything and everything… But I asked him, point blank, and he admitted to it, shit, he was actually smug about it so I hit him, hard”  
“How did you… What made you even think to ask him?”

“Charles, you should be out on the ice-” Erik said, looking at the clock.  
“Just answer the question, please” Charles cut him off.  
“Ever since you told me the story, something didn’t sit right with me. I wasn’t competing that year but I remember Shaw making the trip to see who was going to move up in my absence. When he came back, he was quite smug about something and every time he saw an interview or even a picture of you, he’d whisper the same thing ‘verbotene frucht'”  
“I… I don’t know how I feel about this”  
“I don’t expect you to know but you deserved to know the truth”  
“Well… Thank you for telling me then”  
Erik nodded his head in understanding.

“Can I ask you something?” Charles blurted out.  
“You can ask me anything, Charles” Erik replied openly and honestly.  
“How did it happen? Your accident, I mean… You never talk about it and every news report either said something different or just ‘accident’”  
“What do you think happened?”  
“I don’t know… I’ve heard everything, from car accident to rock climbing to motorcycle there was even mention of it being sexual” he blushed “that one confused me; I really couldn’t see how you could do that during sex”  
Erik chuckled. Charles was so naïve, so precious; he just wanted to hold him.  
“It was none of those actually” Erik admitted. “It was a horse riding incident… My boyfriend, at the time, owned a stable and he rehabilitated horses. We were out for a ride when my horse took issue and went down, taking me with him and crushed my leg”  
“Why did you keep it a secret?”  
“Many reasons… I didn’t wish people to know of my relationship with him, I didn’t want his stable to get the bad press nor did I want anyone to blame the horse. There was talk of it being put down but I wouldn’t let that happen”  
“That’s very commendable of you”  
“Thank you, Charles” 

Erik tore the page from the notebook he was holding and folded it twice before putting the notebook and pen into the side pocket of his duffle bag. He turned and looked at Charles who, for some reason, was still standing inside the door. Erik stepped towards him and held out the folded piece of paper.

“I guess this is the letter I owed you” Erik said to Charles. “The one I should have written years ago but wasn’t able to. Like I said, I really don’t have your way with words but I hope… I hope it’s enough”  
He looked into Charles’s eyes as he waited for the younger man to take it. Charles reached out and accepted the folded note.  
“Good luck out there, Charles” Erik finished.  
“Welcome back, Erik” Charles replied as the older man stepped past him and left the room.

Erik kept his head up high as he made his way up to the rink. The skaters were just leaving the ice, the time for their practice skate having come to an end. He moved to the side as Pietro stepped up to him.  
“You talk to Charles?” Pietro asked. “Is he still embarrassed?”  
“You’d have to ask him” Erik replied.  
“Wanda is happy; she has been asked to do photoshoot”  
“Well, at least some good has come from all this”  
“Skate for him, show him you have love for him”  
“He knows how I feel; at least I hope he does. I wrote him a letter but I don’t know if he’ll read it”  
“You have love for him?”

Erik looked around, unsure if this was the best place to be having this conversation or if Pietro was even the best person he should be talking to about it.  
“Pietro, don’t you have a competition to be preparing for?” he avoided answering him.  
“Yes, good luck to you Erik” Pietro smiled and hurried away to find Wanda and his Coach.

He stood nervously by the edge of the rink; Erik was skating third ahead of both Pietro and Charles. He paced nervously for a few minutes until the first skater took to the ice then he hastily ran away. Erik hadn’t always been the best at watching other competitors, it had been okay when he was on top as he’d believed himself to be untouchable but he was rusty now and had a lot to prove, not just to himself but to the public, the judges and his fans (if he still had any that is).  
Erik took a step back and buried his face in his hands as he took several deep breaths. Who was he really kidding here? Why had he really come back after so long away? Yes, he’d wanted to meet Charles, to talk to him and watch him skate… To connect with the man who had captivated him by replicating his skating program. But he could have found a way to meet him without coming back to the sport himself… Couldn’t he? He was twenty eight years old, almost past his prime in the world of figure skating.

‘Everyone was afraid you'd given up and were never going to compete again’ Charles’s voice echoed in his mind.  
‘Worried you'd never get to compete against me?’ Erik had asked him  
‘Scared I'd never get to see you skate in person with my own eyes’

Maybe, subconsciously he’d always known that was the case. That everything he was doing was for Charles. He’d wanted the chance to share the ice with the younger man, compete against him, watch him skate with his own eyes. He’d told Shaw that he didn’t care for the competition he’d come here to win, that all he wanted was Charles… He wasn’t here for the Gold Medal; he was after a bigger, much more worthwhile prize. It didn’t matter how he did today, win or lose, his prize had already slipped through his fingers. 

Erik was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t hear his name being called. It wasn’t until someone nudged him and he looked up, saw all eyes on him, that he removed the blade covers and stepped towards the rink. The second his skates touched the ice, he felt like he was home again. Erik moved to the centre of the ice and struck his starting pose.  
The music started and his body took over as he lost himself in the rhythm and beauty of his performance. His entire program had been designed not to put a lot of strain on his leg but he was certain he could withstand more than he’d initially given himself. It wasn’t a smart idea to deviate from what he’d been rehearsing all these months but he threw an extra double axel into the beginning of the routine and was very proud with how well it won over the crowd.  
It made him cocky and his next landing had him wobbling on his skate. Erik knew he should play it safe but this was going to be his last chance to really prove himself, to show that his accident hadn’t ended his career and he could still do it.

But his mind was too distracted by the pressure he was now putting on himself and his next attempt at an axel saw him stumble. He went down on his knee and winced in pain. It took a few seconds for him to register the pain and he looked up.  
From across the ice, he could see Charles watching him and their eyes locked.

‘Get Up’ Charles’s lips made no sound that he could hear yet he understood him. ‘You can do this’

It was but a few seconds that he was down; Charles’s encouragement was enough to get him back up and moving again. He ignored the throbbing pain in his knee and kept skating. His move set may not have been to the standard he would have liked but he finished his performance without any further stumbles and by the time the music ended, he felt confident that he’d saved himself from utter failure. The crowd cheered and he felt a wash of relief pass over him as he took a bow.  
Erik skated to the edge and off the ice then he waited in nervous anticipation to hear his score. His stomach was twisting and turning as the judges made their decision. A microphone was shoved in his face and he fumbled as he didn’t know what to say. All he could think was the moment he’d looked up and seen Charles there, urging him on. He wondered if he should thank him?  
His scores were shown on the screen and he let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. They weren’t as bad as he’d anticipated, given that he had fallen quite badly. With these new marks, added to the score of his short program he was still in first place but Pietro and Charles were yet to perform.

By now Pietro was heading onto the ice. Erik hurried back to the side of the rink to watch the younger man’s performance. Further along the rink, he could see Charles with Moira and Raven. Both women had their eyes glued to the skater on the ice but Erik could see Charles clutching a folded piece of paper in his hands. His heart skipped a beat as he wondered if Charles had read it; was that why he’d been so encouraging during Erik’s performance? Or perhaps he was still attempting to force himself to look at it. Erik didn’t know what to think. He hoped Charles would indeed take the time to read it but maybe he should have waited until after the competition before he’d given it to him.

Pietro’s skate was perfect; he’d always known how to work the crowd but it was very clear that he was used to having Wanda on the ice with him; he looked a little lost without her. His sister was standing by the side, cheering him on and jumping up and down with excitement. He skated off the ice and swept her up in his arms.  
Erik felt a tinge of jealousy at the support system all his fellow skaters seemed to have. Pietro had his sister, her husband, their tiny daughter and his Coach all by his side. Charles was taking last minute advice from Moira while accepting an encouraging hug from his sister. Erik had only ever had Shaw by his side, the older man assuring him he didn’t need anyone else. For a time he’d had his mother cheering him on, until she’d become too ill to travel with him. His ex-boyfriend had accompanied him for a time too but had stopped once he’d discovered Erik wasn’t really to be ‘out’ in the public eye. With Shaw gone, Erik was all alone and it struck him very painfully.

Charles broke away from Raven and Moira and headed onto the ice. He seemed much steadier today and Erik hoped it was a very good sign. The music started and Charles began to skate. It was the most mesmerising thing Erik had ever seen. Charles moved with such grace and beauty, his moves were clean and precise. He executed a triple toe loop immediately followed by a double Lutz and Erik found himself on his feet, moving closer to the ice, unable to tear his eyes away from the majestically beautiful sight before him.  
Charles’s performance was breathtaking, every person in the venue was watching with baited breath to see what he would do next. He performed a Biellmann spin and Erik’s jaw dropped, he had no idea Charles was so flexible! This was immediately followed by a Sit spin with many rotations. Erik was internally cheering him on with a wide smile upon his face. Charles wasn’t holding back, he was determined to win and had squeezed as many complex moves into this routine. He had a lot of points to make up after stumbling his short program. He was moving to the final moments of his performance and executed a perfect triple Axel followed by another move… The Lensherr Loop!  
Erik was jumping up and down with the rest of the crowd, cheering on clapping as loud as he could. He even stuck his fingers in his mouth to release an ear splitting whistle of approval. Erik watched as Charles came to a stop and took a bow. The younger man was waving to the crowd and his eyes scanned the vicinity for Erik, he looked at him with a nervous expression on his face until he saw the smile on the older man’s face and he visibly relaxed.

Erik wanted to run onto the ice and embrace him but he couldn’t. Charles skated to the side and was immediately enveloped in a bear hug by Raven. The crowd and Erik were still clapping. He felt a hand on his arm and he turned around. Pietro was standing there, looking at him in surprise.

“He stole your move and yet you are happy?” he asked him.  
“He performed it perfectly” Erik replied. “I’ve never seen anything like it”  
“But he has done it before, no?”  
“Never in competition though”  
“So why he perform it now, to show you up?”  
“No, I think he did it for another reason”

By now the scores were flashing upon the screen and Erik forgot all about Pietro and the other people in the room who were all waiting to see his reaction to Charles’s score. Erik cheered louder and more enthusiastically than any other skater, possibly even more than Raven. It was a new personal best for Charles and when added to the score for his short program, he was now in First Place with only one more skater left to perform.  
Erik wanted to go to him, to congratulate him but now wasn’t the time for Charles was being interviewed and was clearly still in a state of shock. When asked why he chose to perform a move that was already famously associated with a fellow skater, Charles simply smiled and admitted that he was merely honouring the request of someone close to him, someone he loved very much and cared very deeply for.  
Erik’s heart swelled and he definitely wanted to run to Charles but the final skater was taking to the ice.

It felt like hours before the final scores were given and they were each being led to the middle of the ice to receive their medals. Erik was still a little shaky on his leg but he managed to make it to the podium without any assistance. He took his spot on the left of the winner to accept his Bronze Medal while Pietro stepped to the right in the place of his Silver Medal finish. Then Charles was helped to the centre podium to accept his Gold Medal.  
Erik stood proud and tall; tears in his eyes that he tried to blink back. He was ecstatic that he’d still managed to place third after falling in his free skate but he was equally as proud of Pietro and Charles. Pietro had worked so hard to make it without Wanda and he was thrilled to see the younger man could do it on his own.  
And then there was Charles. Erik had never doubted that the younger man had it in him to win but after his fumbled performance in his short program, it had fallen into a touch of doubt. Erik’s heart was still racing as he stood so close to Charles yet still so far away. He wanted to say so much to him, namely thank him for taking the time to read his letter. He may not be able to put his words so eloquently on paper but he’d tried his best to get across his point. He’d ended the letter with a simple request, that if Charles thought they could have any kind of future together, he perform a Lensherr Loop during his free skate.

Erik leaned forward as the Bronze Medal was placed around his neck and he threw his fist up in the air in triumph. He’d done it! He’d made a successful comeback after not competing in three years… Sure, Bronze wasn’t Gold but it was a Medal and that was really all he’d wanted… That and the Grand Prize that stood so happily beside him.  
Pietro was presented with his Silver Medal which he immediately dedicated to Wanda and his adorable niece before declaring that next year he’d be on the Winner’s Spot of the Podium.

Charles stood with tears of happiness in his eyes as the Gold Medal was placed around his neck and he was presented with a bouquet of flowers that he already planned to give to Raven. Erik turned and looked up at Charles with an expression of pure jubilation upon his face. He was so very proud of the younger man.  
The cameras were flashing all around them; Erik felt like he was under a microscope and whatever he did now would be scrutinized by all. He was certain the press were waiting for him to make some comment about Charles’s perfect execution of Erik’s signature move so he extended his hand to Charles and waited for the younger man to take it and return the hand shake.  
But Charles was having none of it. He leapt off the podium and into Erik’s arms, taking the older man completely by surprise. Erik wrapped his arms around Charles and held him close, the flowers having been dropped on the podium.

“Charles?” Erik exclaimed, slightly out of breath from shock.  
But Charles didn’t say a word; he simply leaned forward and kissed Erik firmly on the lips in an echo of their very first kiss. His body took over and he pulled Charles closer, held him tighter as he returned the kiss with as much passion and enthusiasm as he could.  
The cameras were almost blinding at the amount of bulbs and flashes going off around them. They eventually separated and Erik reached up, cupping the smaller man’s cheek and staring into his eyes.

“You were the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen out there, Charles” Erik whispered.  
“I was skating for you, Erik, only you” Charles replied.  
“I love you, Charles, and I’m sorry, I’m sorry for everything”  
“I know you are” he reached up and touched Erik’s cheek. “And I love you too”

Erik leaned in for another kiss which Charles happily returned. After a few minutes, Charles reluctantly returned to the centre podium for official winner’s photographs to be taken. His flowers were handed back to him and he pulled a single rose from the bunch and handed it to Erik. He then took another from the bouquet and offered it to Pietro.  
The three stood for a moment as the cameras went off again then they were finally released from ceremony and Erik reached for Charles again. The two then headed off the ice, hand in hand, with their matching medals around their necks.

“You know” Erik said as he leaned closer “I think we still have much to talk about”  
“Oh? Is that right?” Charles asked.  
“Yes, we do”  
“Such as?”  
“Such as why you didn’t tell me you were so… flexible”

Charles’s cheeks began to flush and Erik grinned to himself.  
“I still have the honeymoon suite booked” he whispered.  
“You do?” Charles asked, hopefully.  
“I do” Erik assured him. “So, go celebrate with your sister and meet me there later, okay?”  
“No, you’re going to come celebrate with me then we’ll go there together, okay?”  
“I…” he paused. Erik wasn’t used to having people wanting to celebrate with him. He knew he could decline and give Charles time alone with his sister and his coach but that would mean not being by his side and now that Charles had forgiven him, he never wanted to be a part from him again. “I’d love to celebrate with you, Charles”

Charles threw himself at Erik again and the older man had to brace himself. This was maybe something he was going to have to get used to.  
“Just promise you won’t drink too much” he requested.  
“Oh? Why is that?” Charles asked.  
“Because when we get back to the hotel, I intend to explore every inch of your beautiful body and I’d hate for you to fall asleep on me”  
“I promise you, not a single drop of alcohol will touch my lips tonight if it means missing even a second of time in your arms, Erik”  
“You’re too precious Charles and you can’t not drink after winning a Gold Medal”

“I know it’s only been three days but this is real, isn’t it?” Charles asked him before they stepped off the ice.  
“As real as these medals are” Erik replied as Raven threw herself into her brothers arms.

Erik turned and his eyes met with Moira’s. He couldn’t tell if she looked happy or not so he decided to play it safe.  
“Everything I said to you is still true, Moira” Erik insisted. “I love him”  
“If you hurt him again, I will break your kneecap” she replied.  
“And I’ll break the other one” Raven added after releasing Charles.

Charles quickly positioned himself between Erik and Raven. He felt the older man’s arms sneak around his waist and he leaned back into the touch.  
“There will be no breaking of anything, okay?” he tried to smooth things over.  
“I just hope you know what you’re doing, Charles” Raven said as she took the flowers from him.  
“Allowing myself to be happy?” he asked her. “You better bloody believe it”

He turned in Erik’s arms and threw his arms around the older man’s neck. The two stood for a moment, gazing into each other’s arms and smiling at the other. Erik leaned in and kissed Charles, dipping him quite extravagantly for the swarms of people still watching them. When they regained their balance, Charles was laughing and Raven sighed.  
She moved closer to Moira but her eyes stayed on her brother’s face and she hated to admit it but, for the first time in a very long time, he was happy. Happier than she’d ever seen him. For he had a Gold Medal around his neck and the man of his dreams in his arms, what more could he possibly want?

“Come on” Moira said, pulling Raven’s attention away from Charles and Erik. “Let’s go get a celebratory drink”  
“My big brother finally has a boyfriend” she replied. “I’ll drink to that”  
“So will I” Erik and Charles replied in unison.  
They all laughed. Erik stole another kiss, Charles smiled and Raven sighed. It was going to be a long night and an even longer trip home but she wouldn’t change it for all the Gold Medals in the world.


End file.
